Break-up behavior of droplets containing chlorine salt with the same valence cation under electric field via molecular dynamics simulation

Application of the electric field to water-in-oil system can accelerate the coalescence of droplets. However, when an excessively high electric field is applied, droplets will exhibit break-up behavior. In addition to the strength of the electric field, the salt type in droplets significantly affects their break-up behavior. However, the break-up behavior of droplets containing the same valence cation is rarely investigated, and the mechanism underlying the influence of ionic type remains unclear. In this study, the break-up behavior of droplets containing chlorine salt with the same valence cation is studied by molecular dynamics simulations. The influences of electric field strength and ionic type on the break-up behavior of droplets are analyzed. Simulation results demonstrate that the droplet deformation increases with the increase in the electric field, and the droplets break when the degree of deformation exceeds a critical value. The ionic type mainly affects the break-up time of droplets through drift velocity, which is proportional to the electric field strength and ionic mobility. Moreover, from Na+ to Cs+, the cationic mobility increases first and then decreases with the increase of crystallographic radius.