Electricity resonance-accelerated water evaporation in functionalized carbon nanochannels

We report that the water evaporation inside functionalized carbon nanochannels can be regulated by tuning the frequency of the applied varying electric field. At an optimal varying electric field frequency of 35 THz, the evaporation rate increases by tens of times compared to that under no electric field, low-, or high-frequency conditions. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that this phenomenon originates from the resonant coupling between the intrinsic vibrational modes of hydroxyl groups on nanochannel inner walls and the characteristic hydrogen-bond oscillation dynamics of confined water molecules. This frequency-selective resonance mechanism enables control of nanoscale water evaporation, thereby offering actionable guidance for the design of high-efficiency nanofluidic devices.