Intrinsic and apparent slip at gas-enriched liquid–liquid interfaces: a molecular dynamics study

In this paper, slip at liquid–liquid interfaces is studied focusing on the ubiquitous case in which a third species (e.g. a gas) is present. Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that the contaminant species accumulate at the liquid–liquid interface, enriching it and affecting momentum transfer in a non-trivial fashion. The Navier boundary condition is seen to apply at this interface, accounting for slip between the liquids. Opposite trends are observed for soluble and poorly soluble species, with the slip length decreasing with concentration in the first case and significantly increasing in the latter. Two regimes are found, one in which the liquid–liquid interface is altered by the third species but changes in slip length remain limited to molecular sizes (intrinsic slip). In the second regime, further accumulation of non-soluble gas at the interface gives rise to a gaseous layer replacing the liquid–liquid interface; in this case, the apparent slip lengths are one order of magnitude larger and grow linearly with the layer width as captured quantitatively by a simple three-fluids model. Overall, results show that the presence of a third species considerably enriches the slip phenomenology both calling for new experiments and opening the door to novel strategies to control liquid–liquid slip, e.g. in liquid infused surfaces.