Nanobubbles potentially have widespread applications in water treatment, targeted cancer diagnosis and therapy, microfluidic surface cleaning, and zero-carbon fuel additives. However, despite apparent improvements, there are many unresolved questions regarding the supposed role of nanobubbles in these applications.
In our research, we use high-fidelity Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to provide crucial insights into nanobubble behaviour, including cavitation dynamics: their transient response to pressure fluctuations, and the main process which underpins many of the above proposed applications.
Beyond cavitation, we have been using ARCHER2 to critically investigate the leading theories for nanobubble long-term stability, which is currently not well understood, and we look ahead to how the next generation of High-Performance Computing (HPC) facilities could help unlock the full potential of nanobubbles in engineering.