Cavitation in Water Induced by a SnO₂ Nanoparticle and a Strong Electric Field

Molecular dynamic simulations are performed to examine the effect of an electric field on a system consisting of a SnO₂ nanoparticle embedded in water under ambient conditions. Cavitation is observed in the presence of uniform electric fields ranging from 0.042 to 0.25 V/Angstrom in both the SPCE and the Hydrogen-Bonding Polarizable (HBP) force field models for water. Over at least one order of magnitude, the cavity onset time t is related to the electric field through the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts form E(t) =E₀exp(-(t/τ)^β , with b = d*/(d* + 2) = 3/7 where d* = d/2, d being the dimensionality of the system. The bubbles are found to rapidly collapse upon removal of the electric field. Results for the structure and dynamics of water along with the electric field distributions in the system will be presented.