title: Wetting in hydrophobic nanochannels: a challenge of classical capillarity.
abstract: We report an investigation of the water-hydrophobic interface in well-defined nanochannels (R approximately 2-4 nm). Wetting in these systems cannot be described by classical (macroscopic) capillary theory: (1) water occupies only a fraction ( approximately 60%) of the pore volume, and (2) the capillary pressures are approximately 60-90% greater than predicted by the Laplace equation. The results suggest the presence of approximately 0.6 nm layer of low-density fluid (vapor) separating water from the hydrophobic solid.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey 07079, USA.
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Helmy
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kazakevich
authors.forename: Chaoying
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Alexander Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Fadeev
mesh_terms: D002196:Capillaries; D002197:Capillary Action; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D017155:Wettability
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D012822:Silicon Dioxide