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Capillary filling of anodized alumina nanopore arrays
Kyle J Alvine1, Oleg G Shpyrko, Peter S Pershan
1Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. kalvine@post.harvard.edu
Abstract:
The filling behavior of a room temperature solvent, perfluoromethylcyclohexane, in approximately 20 nm nanoporous alumina membranes was investigated in situ with small angle x-ray scattering. Adsorption in the pores was controlled reversibly by varying the chemical potential between the sample and a liquid reservoir via a thermal offset, DeltaT. The system exhibited a pronounced hysteretic capillary filling transition as liquid was condensed into the nanopores. These results are compared with Kelvin-Cohan theory, with a modified Derjaguin approximation, as well as with predictions by Cole and Saam.
