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Ultra-rapid and relative humidity independent drying of nanochannels

Abstract

We observed that water-filled nanochannels dried up to 1000 times faster than predicted by vapor diffusional drying. Here we show that this ultra-rapid water transport is caused by very sharp channel corners siphoning (wicking) the water to the channel exit before it evaporates. Evidence is also provided that these sharp corners make the drying process independent of the relative humidity (RH) of the environment up to an RH of more than 0.9. To our knowledge this is the first time that nanochannel drying has been observed, and both the acceleration of drying and the independence of RH are highly surprising

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