DOI: 10.1126/science.265.5180.1850. Capillarity and Wetting of Carbon Nanotubes

Capillarity and Wetting of Carbon Nanotubes

10.1126/science.265.5180.1850

Crossref journal-article

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Science (221)

Abstract

The wetting and capillarity of carbon nanotubes were studied in detail here. Nanotubes are not "super-straws," although they can be wet and filled by substances having low surface tension, such as sulfur, selenium, and cesium, with an upper limit to this tension less than 200 millinewtons per meter. This limit implies that typical pure metals will not be drawn into the inner cavity of nanotubes through capillarity, whereas water and organic solvents will. These results have important implications for the further use of carbon nanotubes in experiments on a nanometer scale.

Bibliography

Dujardin, E., Ebbesen, T. W., Hiura, H., & Tanigaki, K. (1994). Capillarity and Wetting of Carbon Nanotubes. Science, 265(5180), 1850â1852.

Authors 4

E. Dujardin (first)
T. W. Ebbesen (additional)
H. Hiura (additional)
K. Tanigaki (additional)

References 21 Referenced 788

Handbook of Physics and Chemistry 69 (1988).
Adamson A. W. Physical Chemistry of Surfaces (1990).
10.1038/361333a0
AJAYAN, P.M., OPENING CARBON NANOTUBES WITH OXYGEN AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FILLING, NATURE 362: 522 (1993). (10.1038/362522a0) / NATURE (1993)
AJAYAN, P.M., GROWTH OF MANGANESE FILLED CARBON NANOFIBERS IN THE VAPOR-PHASE, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 72: 1722 (1994). (10.1103/PhysRevLett.72.1722) / PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (1994)
BLASE, X, HYBRIDIZATION EFFECTS AND METALLICITY IN SMALL RADIUS CARBON NANOTUBES, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 72: 1878 (1994). (10.1103/PhysRevLett.72.1878) / PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (1994)
BOGOMOLOV, V.N., SOV PHYS-TECH PHYS 37: 79 (1992). / SOV PHYS-TECH PHYS (1992)
DEGENNES, P.G., WETTING - STATICS AND DYNAMICS, REVIEWS OF MODERN PHYSICS 57: 827 (1985). (10.1103/RevModPhys.57.827) / REVIEWS OF MODERN PHYSICS (1985)
EBBESEN, T.W., CARBON NANOTUBES, ANNUAL REVIEW OF MATERIALS SCIENCE 24: 235 (1994). (10.1146/annurev.ms.24.080194.001315) / ANNUAL REVIEW OF MATERIALS SCIENCE (1994)
EBBESEN, T.W., PATTERNS IN THE BULK GROWTH OF CARBON NANOTUBES, CHEMICAL PHYSICS LETTERS 209: 83 (1993). (10.1016/0009-2614(93)87206-I) / CHEMICAL PHYSICS LETTERS (1993)
EBBESEN, T.W., LARGE-SCALE SYNTHESIS OF CARBON NANOTUBES, NATURE 358: 220 (1992). (10.1038/358220a0) / NATURE (1992)
HAMADA, N, NEW ONE-DIMENSIONAL CONDUCTORS - GRAPHITIC MICROTUBULES, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 68: 1579 (1992). (10.1103/PhysRevLett.68.1579) / PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (1992)
MINTMIRE, J.W., ARE FULLERENE TUBULES METALLIC, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 68: 631 (1992). (10.1103/PhysRevLett.68.631) / PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (1992)
PEDERSON, M.R., NANOCAPILLARITY IN FULLERENE TUBULES, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 69: 2689 (1992). (10.1103/PhysRevLett.69.2689) / PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (1992)
QUERE, D, SPREADING OF LIQUIDS ON HIGHLY CURVED SURFACES, SCIENCE 249: 1256 (1990). (10.1126/science.249.4974.1256) / SCIENCE (1990)
SAITO, R, ELECTRONIC-STRUCTURE OF CHIRAL GRAPHENE TUBULES, APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 60: 2204 (1992). (10.1063/1.107080) / APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS (1992)
SAITO, Y, CARBON NANOCAPSULES ENCAGING METALS AND CARBIDES, JOURNAL OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF SOLIDS 54: 1849 (1993). (10.1016/0022-3697(93)90298-6) / JOURNAL OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF SOLIDS (1993)
Seraphin, S., Nature 362:503 (1993). / Nature (1993)
10.1126/science.247.4943.669
Subramoney, S., Carbon 32: 507 (1994). (10.1016/0008-6223(94)90173-2) / Carbon (1994)
SUN, T, A CATIONIC CESIUM CONTINUUM IN ZEOLITE-X, SCIENCE 259: 495 (1993). (10.1126/science.259.5094.495) / SCIENCE (1993)

Dates

Type	When
Created	18 years, 10 months ago (Oct. 5, 2006, 8:01 p.m.)
Deposited	1 year, 7 months ago (Jan. 12, 2024, 4:09 p.m.)
Indexed	5 days, 7 hours ago (Aug. 23, 2025, 1:02 a.m.)
Issued	30 years, 11 months ago (Sept. 23, 1994)
Published	30 years, 11 months ago (Sept. 23, 1994)
Published Print	30 years, 11 months ago (Sept. 23, 1994)

Funders 0

None

BibTeX

@article{Dujardin_1994, title={Capillarity and Wetting of Carbon Nanotubes}, volume={265}, ISSN={1095-9203}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.265.5180.1850}, DOI={10.1126/science.265.5180.1850}, number={5180}, journal={Science}, publisher={American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)}, author={Dujardin, E. and Ebbesen, T. W. and Hiura, H. and Tanigaki, K.}, year={1994}, month=sep, pages={1850–1852} }

JSON

{
  "indexed": {
    "date-parts": [
      [
        2025,
        8,
        23
      ]
    ],
    "date-time": "2025-08-23T05:02:36Z",
    "timestamp": 1755925356282
  },
  "reference-count": 21,
  "publisher": "American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)",
  "issue": "5180",
  "content-domain": {
    "domain": [],
    "crossmark-restriction": false
  },
  "published-print": {
    "date-parts": [
      [
        1994,
        9,
        23
      ]
    ]
  },
  "abstract": "<jats:p>The wetting and capillarity of carbon nanotubes were studied in detail here. Nanotubes are not \"super-straws,\" although they can be wet and filled by substances having low surface tension, such as sulfur, selenium, and cesium, with an upper limit to this tension less than 200 millinewtons per meter. This limit implies that typical pure metals will not be drawn into the inner cavity of nanotubes through capillarity, whereas water and organic solvents will. These results have important implications for the further use of carbon nanotubes in experiments on a nanometer scale.</jats:p>",
  "DOI": "10.1126/science.265.5180.1850",
  "type": "journal-article",
  "created": {
    "date-parts": [
      [
        2006,
        10,
        6
      ]
    ],
    "date-time": "2006-10-06T00:01:25Z",
    "timestamp": 1160092885000
  },
  "page": "1850-1852",
  "source": "Crossref",
  "is-referenced-by-count": 788,
  "title": "Capillarity and Wetting of Carbon Nanotubes",
  "prefix": "10.1126",
  "volume": "265",
  "author": [
    {
      "given": "E.",
      "family": "Dujardin",
      "sequence": "first",
      "affiliation": [
        {
          "name": "Fundamental Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation, 34 Miyukigaoka, Tsukuba 305, Japan"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "given": "T. W.",
      "family": "Ebbesen",
      "sequence": "additional",
      "affiliation": [
        {
          "name": "Fundamental Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation, 34 Miyukigaoka, Tsukuba 305, Japan"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "given": "H.",
      "family": "Hiura",
      "sequence": "additional",
      "affiliation": [
        {
          "name": "Fundamental Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation, 34 Miyukigaoka, Tsukuba 305, Japan"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "given": "K.",
      "family": "Tanigaki",
      "sequence": "additional",
      "affiliation": [
        {
          "name": "Fundamental Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation, 34 Miyukigaoka, Tsukuba 305, Japan"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "member": "221",
  "reference": [
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_1_1",
      "unstructured": "Handbook of Physics and Chemistry 69 (1988)."
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_2_1",
      "unstructured": "Adamson A. W. Physical Chemistry of Surfaces (1990)."
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_3_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "publisher",
      "DOI": "10.1038/361333a0"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_4_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "522",
      "DOI": "10.1038/362522a0",
      "volume": "362",
      "year": "1993",
      "unstructured": "AJAYAN, P.M., OPENING CARBON NANOTUBES WITH OXYGEN AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FILLING, NATURE 362: 522 (1993).",
      "journal-title": "NATURE"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_5_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "1722",
      "DOI": "10.1103/PhysRevLett.72.1722",
      "volume": "72",
      "year": "1994",
      "unstructured": "AJAYAN, P.M., GROWTH OF MANGANESE FILLED CARBON NANOFIBERS IN THE VAPOR-PHASE, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 72: 1722 (1994).",
      "journal-title": "PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_6_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "1878",
      "DOI": "10.1103/PhysRevLett.72.1878",
      "volume": "72",
      "year": "1994",
      "unstructured": "BLASE, X, HYBRIDIZATION EFFECTS AND METALLICITY IN SMALL RADIUS CARBON NANOTUBES, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 72: 1878 (1994).",
      "journal-title": "PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_7_1",
      "first-page": "79",
      "volume": "37",
      "year": "1992",
      "unstructured": "BOGOMOLOV, V.N., SOV PHYS-TECH PHYS 37: 79 (1992).",
      "journal-title": "SOV PHYS-TECH PHYS"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_8_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "827",
      "DOI": "10.1103/RevModPhys.57.827",
      "volume": "57",
      "year": "1985",
      "unstructured": "DEGENNES, P.G., WETTING - STATICS AND DYNAMICS, REVIEWS OF MODERN PHYSICS 57: 827 (1985).",
      "journal-title": "REVIEWS OF MODERN PHYSICS"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_9_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "235",
      "DOI": "10.1146/annurev.ms.24.080194.001315",
      "volume": "24",
      "year": "1994",
      "unstructured": "EBBESEN, T.W., CARBON NANOTUBES, ANNUAL REVIEW OF MATERIALS SCIENCE 24: 235 (1994).",
      "journal-title": "ANNUAL REVIEW OF MATERIALS SCIENCE"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_10_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "83",
      "DOI": "10.1016/0009-2614(93)87206-I",
      "volume": "209",
      "year": "1993",
      "unstructured": "EBBESEN, T.W., PATTERNS IN THE BULK GROWTH OF CARBON NANOTUBES, CHEMICAL PHYSICS LETTERS 209: 83 (1993).",
      "journal-title": "CHEMICAL PHYSICS LETTERS"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_11_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "220",
      "DOI": "10.1038/358220a0",
      "volume": "358",
      "year": "1992",
      "unstructured": "EBBESEN, T.W., LARGE-SCALE SYNTHESIS OF CARBON NANOTUBES, NATURE 358: 220 (1992).",
      "journal-title": "NATURE"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_12_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "1579",
      "DOI": "10.1103/PhysRevLett.68.1579",
      "volume": "68",
      "year": "1992",
      "unstructured": "HAMADA, N, NEW ONE-DIMENSIONAL CONDUCTORS - GRAPHITIC MICROTUBULES, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 68: 1579 (1992).",
      "journal-title": "PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_13_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "631",
      "DOI": "10.1103/PhysRevLett.68.631",
      "volume": "68",
      "year": "1992",
      "unstructured": "MINTMIRE, J.W., ARE FULLERENE TUBULES METALLIC, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 68: 631 (1992).",
      "journal-title": "PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_14_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "2689",
      "DOI": "10.1103/PhysRevLett.69.2689",
      "volume": "69",
      "year": "1992",
      "unstructured": "PEDERSON, M.R., NANOCAPILLARITY IN FULLERENE TUBULES, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 69: 2689 (1992).",
      "journal-title": "PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_15_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "1256",
      "DOI": "10.1126/science.249.4974.1256",
      "volume": "249",
      "year": "1990",
      "unstructured": "QUERE, D, SPREADING OF LIQUIDS ON HIGHLY CURVED SURFACES, SCIENCE 249: 1256 (1990).",
      "journal-title": "SCIENCE"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_16_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "2204",
      "DOI": "10.1063/1.107080",
      "volume": "60",
      "year": "1992",
      "unstructured": "SAITO, R, ELECTRONIC-STRUCTURE OF CHIRAL GRAPHENE TUBULES, APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 60: 2204 (1992).",
      "journal-title": "APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_17_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "1849",
      "DOI": "10.1016/0022-3697(93)90298-6",
      "volume": "54",
      "year": "1993",
      "unstructured": "SAITO, Y, CARBON NANOCAPSULES ENCAGING METALS AND CARBIDES, JOURNAL OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF SOLIDS 54: 1849 (1993).",
      "journal-title": "JOURNAL OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF SOLIDS"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_18_1",
      "first-page": "503",
      "volume": "362",
      "year": "1993",
      "unstructured": "Seraphin, S., Nature 362:503 (1993).",
      "journal-title": "Nature"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_19_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "publisher",
      "DOI": "10.1126/science.247.4943.669"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_20_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "507",
      "DOI": "10.1016/0008-6223(94)90173-2",
      "volume": "32",
      "year": "1994",
      "unstructured": "Subramoney, S., Carbon 32: 507 (1994).",
      "journal-title": "Carbon"
    },
    {
      "key": "e_1_2_1_21_1",
      "doi-asserted-by": "crossref",
      "first-page": "495",
      "DOI": "10.1126/science.259.5094.495",
      "volume": "259",
      "year": "1993",
      "unstructured": "SUN, T, A CATIONIC CESIUM CONTINUUM IN ZEOLITE-X, SCIENCE 259: 495 (1993).",
      "journal-title": "SCIENCE"
    }
  ],
  "container-title": "Science",
  "original-title": [],
  "language": "en",
  "link": [
    {
      "URL": "https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.265.5180.1850",
      "content-type": "unspecified",
      "content-version": "vor",
      "intended-application": "similarity-checking"
    }
  ],
  "deposited": {
    "date-parts": [
      [
        2024,
        1,
        12
      ]
    ],
    "date-time": "2024-01-12T21:09:04Z",
    "timestamp": 1705093744000
  },
  "score": 1,
  "resource": {
    "primary": {
      "URL": "https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.265.5180.1850"
    }
  },
  "subtitle": [],
  "short-title": [],
  "issued": {
    "date-parts": [
      [
        1994,
        9,
        23
      ]
    ]
  },
  "references-count": 21,
  "journal-issue": {
    "issue": "5180",
    "published-print": {
      "date-parts": [
        [
          1994,
          9,
          23
        ]
      ]
    }
  },
  "alternative-id": [
    "10.1126/science.265.5180.1850"
  ],
  "URL": "http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.265.5180.1850",
  "relation": {},
  "ISSN": [
    "0036-8075",
    "1095-9203"
  ],
  "subject": [],
  "container-title-short": "Science",
  "published": {
    "date-parts": [
      [
        1994,
        9,
        23
      ]
    ]
  }
}