Rapid motion of liquid mercury column in carbon nanotubes driven by temperature gradient

• Published in: Journal of applied physics Vol. 116; no. 7
• Main Authors: Zhang, Zhong-Qiang, Dong, Xin, Ye, Hong-Fei, Cheng, Guang-Gui, Ding, Jian-Ning, Ling, Zhi-Yong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melville American Institute of Physics 21.08.2014
• Subjects: Acceleration; Applied physics; Mercury (metal); Single wall carbon nanotubes; Size effects; Temperature gradients
• ISSN: 0021-8979; 1089-7550
• DOI: 10.1063/1.4893674

The liquid mercury column can be rapidly transported from high temperature region to low temperature region in single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) driven by the temperature gradient. Interestingly, the total force acting on the mercury column keeps constant during the temperature gradient-driven process. The motion acceleration of the mercury column is linearly dependent on the magnitude of the temperature gradient. The meniscuses of the hydrophobic mercury column confined in SWCNTs do not appreciably affect the motion behaviors of the mercury column in our proposed model. The influences of the column length and the CNT diameter on the motion behaviors of the mercury column are considered to clarify the mechanism of the size effect. The motion acceleration of the mercury column nonlinearly decreases with increasing the column length and the CNT diameter. The overall oscillation of the SWCNTs plays the dominant role in rapid motion of mercury column for short-length mercury columns and small-diameter SWCNTs.