Carbon nanotubes are potential building blocks for nanofluidic devices. The way fluids flow into and fill nanotubes is therefore of wide interest; however, there are currently no experimental data or theoretical models for this nanoscale process. We have carried out molecular dynamics simulations of nanotubes imbibing oil at an oil/vapor interface at 298 K. We find that nanotubes imbibe very rapidly ($\le 445\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$) via complex imbibition dynamics. The filling does not obey the macroscopic Washburn equation; the penetration length is a linear function of time.

• Received 16 September 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.214501