Possibility of driving water molecules along a single-walled carbon nanotube using methane molecules

Molecular dynamics simulation is used to study the transport behavior of water molecules along an open-ended single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) under the driving force of methane molecules. The methane molecules pull the water molecules from the inside of a SWCNT along the axial direction. The transport velocity of water molecules increases with increasing number of methane molecules, but decreases with increasing diameter of the SWCNT. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.