Wetting of Liquid Iron in Carbon Nanotubes and on Graphene Sheets: A Molecular Dynamics Study

YF Gao and Y Yang and DY Sun, CHINESE PHYSICS LETTERS, 28, 036102 (2011).

DOI: 10.1088/0256-307X/28/3/036102

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we study the wetting of liquid iron in a carbon nanotube and on a graphene sheet. It is found that the contact angle of a droplet in a carbon nanotube increases linearly with the increase of wall curvature but is independent of the length of the filled liquid. The contact angle for a droplet on a graphene sheet decreases with the increasing droplet size. The line tension of a droplet on a graphene sheet is also obtained. Detailed studies show that liquid iron near the carbon walls exhibits the ordering tendencies in both the normal and tangential directions.

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