1202.1008 (Vitaly V. Chaban et al.)

Confinement by Carbon Nanotubes Drastically Alters the Boiling and
Critical Behavior of Water Droplets    [PDF]

Vitaly V. Chaban, Victor V. Prezhdo, Oleg V. Prezhdo

Vapor pressure grows rapidly above the boiling temperature, and past the
critical point liquid droplets disintegrate. Our atomistic simulations show
that this sequence of events is reversed inside carbon nanotubes (CNT).
Droplets disintegrate first and at low temperature, while pressure remains
small. The droplet disintegration temperature is independent of the CNT
diameter. In contrast, depending on CNT diameter, a temperature that is much
higher than the bulk boiling temperature is required to raise the internal
pressure. The control over pressure by CNT size can be useful for therapeutic
drug delivery.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.1008