Self-assembly of water molecules using graphene nanoresonators

Abstract

Inspired by macroscale self-assembly using the higher order resonant modes of Chladni plates, we use classical molecular dynamics to investigate the self-assembly of water molecules using graphene nanoresonators. We find that water molecules can assemble into water chains and that the location of the assembled water chain can be controlled through the resonant frequency. More specifically, water molecules assemble at the location of maximum amplitude if the resonant frequency is lower than a critical value. Otherwise, the assembly occurs near the nodes of the resonator provided the resonant frequency is higher than the critical value. We provide an analytic formula for the critical resonant frequency based on the interaction between water molecules and graphene. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the water chains assembled by the graphene nanoresonators have some universal properties including a stable value for the number of hydrogen bonds.