A unified approach for truncated and extended adsorbed liquid films in evaporating menisci

Abstract

The morphology of evaporating menisci near the three-phase contact line region—whether characterized by a truncated adsorbed liquid film or an extended adsorbed liquid film—has been the subject of long-standing debate. In this Letter, we present a unified mesoscopic approach for predicting both the morphological evolution and heat transfer characteristics of evaporating menisci. This methodology provides a comprehensive framework capable of simultaneously characterizing the truncated-adsorbed liquid film regime, the extended-adsorbed liquid film regime, and their transitional behavior. We explain the stability mechanism and evaporation heat transfer characteristics of nanoscale liquid films, as well as the self-regulation mechanism governing the evaporating meniscus between the extended-adsorbed film regime and the truncated-adsorbed film regime. This unified framework provides a useful tool for investigating the nanoscale evaporation heat transfer characteristics and mechanisms in liquid–vapor phase change processes.