title: Diameter-dependent wetting of tungsten disulfide nanotubes.
abstract: The simple process of a liquid wetting a solid surface is controlled by a plethora of factors-surface texture, liquid droplet size and shape, energetics of both liquid and solid surfaces, as well as their interface. Studying these events at the nanoscale provides insights into the molecular basis of wetting. Nanotube wetting studies are particularly challenging due to their unique shape and small size. Nonetheless, the success of nanotubes, particularly inorganic ones, as fillers in composite materials makes it essential to understand how common liquids wet them. Here, we present a comprehensive wetting study of individual tungsten disulfide nanotubes by water. We reveal the nature of interaction at the inert outer wall and show that remarkably high wetting forces are attained on small, open-ended nanotubes due to capillary aspiration into the hollow core. This study provides a theoretical and experimental paradigm for this intricate problem.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Ohad
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Goldbart
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Sidney R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Ifat
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kaplan-Ashiri
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg 620083, Russia.
authors.forename: Polina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Glazyrina
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: H Daniel
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg 620083, Russia; reshef.tenne@weizmann.ac.il enyashin@ihim.uran.ru.|Institute of Solid State Chemistry, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg 620990, Russia.
authors.forename: Andrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Enyashin
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel; reshef.tenne@weizmann.ac.il enyashin@ihim.uran.ru.
authors.forename: Reshef
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tenne
keywords: MD simulations; capillary; in situ microscopy; inorganic nanotubes; wetting