Nanotube Boiler: Attogram Copper Evaporation Driven by Electric Current, Joule Heating, Charge, and Ionization

Controlled copper evaporation at attogram level from individual carbon nanotube (CNT) vessels, which we call nanotube boilers, is investigated experimentally and theoretically. We compared the evaporation modes induced by electric current, Joule heating, charge, and ionization in these CNT boilers, which can serve as sources for mass transport and deposition in nanofluidic systems. Experiments and molecular dynamics simulations show that the most effective method for evaporation is by positively ionizing the encapsulated copper; therefore, an electrostatic field can be used to guide the flow.