Water Flow in Graphene Nanochannels

This chapter discusses the thermophysical properties of confined water and hydrodynamic and thermal transport of water flow through graphene or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nanochannels, highlighting their distinct features different from macroscale properties. Water transport through nanoscale confinements is of great interest in various research areas, as it can be applied to innovative, practical applications. In nanochannels, atomic-level properties are more prominent because of the molecular dimension, and unique properties of graphene and CNTs will also affect water behaviors, and thus, properties quite different from those seen for the bulk counterpart are expected and have been reported. Thermophysical properties of water are very well known; however, when water is in graphene or CNT nanochannels, dominant confinement effects and the resulting unique atomic structures lead to thermodynamic properties very different from those of bulk water. Water confined in graphene and CNT nanochannels possesses different atomic structures depending on channel size, resulting in different boiling and freezing temperatures.