Competition between collapse and breakup in nanometer-sized thin rings using molecular dynamics and continuum modeling

Langmuir. 2012 Oct 2;28(39):13960-7. doi: 10.1021/la303093f. Epub 2012 Sep 21.

Abstract

We consider nanometer-sized fluid annuli (rings) deposited on a solid substrate and ask whether these rings break up into droplets due to the instability of Rayleigh-Plateau-type modified by the presence of the substrate, or collapse to a central drop due to the presence of azimuthal curvature. The analysis is carried out by a combination of atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and a continuum model based on a long-wave limit of Navier-Stokes equations. We find consistent results between the two approaches, and demonstrate characteristic dimension regimes which dictate the assembly dynamics.