Clathrate Adhesion Induced by Quasi-Liquid Layer.

ABSTRACT: The adhesive force of clathrates to surfaces is a century-old problem of pipeline blockage for the energy industry. Here, we provide new physical insight into the origin of this force by accounting for the existence of a quasi-liquid layer (QLL) on clathrate surfaces. To gain this insight, we measure the adhesive force between a tetrahydrofuran clathrate and a solid sphere. We detect a strong adhesion, which originates from a capillary bridge that is formed from a nanometer-thick QLL on the clathrate surface. The curvature of this capillary bridge is nanoscaled, causes a large negative Laplace pressure, and leads to a strong capillary attraction. The microscopic capillary bridge expands and consolidates over time. This dynamic behavior explains the time-dependent increase of measured capil

SUBMITTER: Nguyen NN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8488953 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature