LAUSR

Significance Although bubble nucleation has been recognized as highly stochastic and heterogeneous, it is still poorly understood how surface nanoscopic topologies quantitatively modulate the nucleation process. Here, we directly measure single-bubble nucleation on surfaces with silica nanoparticles of controlled size and surface chemistry as foreign nucleants using the scanning electrochemical cell microscopy technique. Unlike the conventional spectroscopic or optical microscopic methods, our approach not only provides both high temporal and spatial resolution but also, quantifies the corresponding chemical supersaturation ratio at single nucleation. Spatially resolved scanning mapping allows for convincing correlation with local surface topologies. Our study of single-bubble nucleation demonstrates the previously unseen dependence of heterogenous bubble nucleation on the surface topology at the single nucleation level.