On the dewetting of liquefied metal nanostructures

Direct numerical simulations of liquefied metal nanostructures dewetting a substrate are carried out. Full three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations are solved and a volume-of-fluid method is used for tracking and locating the interface. Substrate wettability is varied to study the influence of the solid–liquid interaction. The effects of initial geometry on the retraction dynamics is numerically investigated. It is shown that the dewetting velocity increases with increases in the contact angle and that the retraction dynamics is governed by an elaborate interplay of initial geometry, inertial and capillary forces, and the dewetting phenomena. Numerical results are presented for the dewetting of nanoscale Cu and Au liquefied structures on a substrate.