Boiling, Condensation, and Chemical Conversion: Fundamentals to Devices

Boiling and condensation underpin many of the most effective thermal management and energy-conversion technologies because phase change can deliver very high heat-transfer rates with compact hardware and modest temperature differences. When heat transfer and chemical reaction are mutually coupled—each influencing the other's rate, direction, and local equilibrium—they open new frontiers for process intensification, enabling device-scale functionalities that neither phenomenon alone can achieve.

This Research Topic aims to highlight advances that connect the fundamental thermal engineering science of two-phase transport to device design and system performance, with particular emphasis on the joint physics of phase change and chemical conversion in practical technologies. We seek contributions that bridge the scales from molecular interactions at phase boundaries to the performance of complete chemical reactors or thermal management systems, focusing on settings where vapor–liquid equilibrium and reaction kinetics are inseparable companions.

Contributions are welcomed on the following topics:

• The physics that govern heat and mass transfer at liquid–vapor and liquid–solid interfaces, including nucleation and growth, bubble dynamics and departure, microlayer evaporation, contact-line transport, interfacial instabilities, and the onset of performance limits such as critical heat flux (CHF) and dryout—especially as these phenomena are altered by, or themselves alter, the progress of a chemical transformation occurring within either phase or at their interface.

• The mechanisms controlling dropwise versus filmwise modes, coalescence and shedding, flooding and entrainment, the impact of non-condensable gases (including those generated or consumed by reaction), and how surface condition and aging influence long-term thermal performance in systems where condensation or boiling is accompanied by chemical conversion.

• Mechanisms tied to engineering metrics, such as heat-transfer coefficient, thermal resistance, pressure drop, stability margins, and reliability—particularly where phase change and chemical conversion jointly govern the performance of compact heat exchangers, microreactors, or other process-intensified equipment.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: nucleate boiling, heat transfer, bubble dynamics, dropwise condensation, critical heat flux, interfacial heat and mass transfer, phase-change, thermal performance

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.