Open AccessCarbon Nanotubes Immersed in Superfluid Helium: The Impact of Quantum Confinement on Wetting and Capillary Action
Author(s) -
Andreas Hauser,
María Pilar de LaraCastells
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the journal of physical chemistry letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.563
H-Index - 203
ISSN - 1948-7185
DOI - 10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b02414
Subject(s) - carbon nanotube , helium , superfluid helium 4 , ab initio , density functional theory , materials science , superfluidity , helium 4 , molecular physics , adsorption , chemical physics , atomic physics , nanotechnology , condensed matter physics , chemistry , computational chemistry , physics , organic chemistry
A recent experimental study [ Ohba, Sci. Rep. 2016, 6, 28992 ] of gas adsorption on single-walled carbon nanotubes at temperatures between 2 and 5 K reported a quenched propagation of helium through carbon nanotubes with diameters below 7 Å despite the small kinetic diameter of helium atoms. After assessing the performance of a potential model for the He-nanotube interaction via ab initio calculations with density functional theory-based symmetry adapted perturbation theory, we apply orbital-free helium density functional theory to show that the counterintuitive experimental result is a consequence of the exceptionally high zero-point energy of helium and its tendency to form spatially separated layers of helium upon adsorption at the lowest temperatures. Helium filling factors are derived for a series of carbon nanotubes and compared to the available experimental data.