Hemispherical nanobubbles reduce interfacial slippage in simple liquids

Using an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM), we have produced bubbles of nanoscopic size at the front electrode of an acoustic shear wave resonator. Nanobubbles are usually expected to increase the resonance frequency because they have a low density and, also, because a liquid slides easily at a liquid-air interface. However, the bubble-induced frequency shift in many cases was negative, which implies positive hydrodynamic thickness and reduced slippage. The explanation is based on Laplace pressure. Due to the bubbles' inherent stiffness, the space in-between neighboring bubbles may turn into an assembly of pockets which move with the underlying substrate in the same way as a solid film. If, first, the bubbles are so small that the Laplace pressure can overcome the viscous drag, and, second, the contact angle is in the range of 90°, the latter effect dominates. This interpretation was corroborated by a calculation using the finite element method (FEM). The argument as such is not limited to acoustic shear waves: hemispherical nanobubbles increase the surface drag in stationary flows in the same way.