Thermal effect on the dynamic infiltration of water into single-walled carbon nanotubes

Thermally induced variation in wetting ability in a confined nanoenvironment, indicated by the change in infiltration pressure as water molecules enter a model single-walled carbon nanotube submerged in aqueous environment, is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. The temperature-dependent infiltration behavior is impacted in part by the thermally excited radial oscillation of the carbon nanotube, and in part by the variations of fundamental physical properties at the molecular level, including the hydrogen bonding interaction. The thermal effect is also closely coupled with the nanotube size effect and loading rate effect. Manipulation of the thermally responsive infiltration properties could facilitate the development of a next-generation thermal energy converter based on nanoporous materials. © 2009 The American Physical Society.