Raman scattering study of adsorption/desorption of water from single‐walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract We utilized Raman spectroscopy to investigate H 2 O adsorption in and desorption from single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). SWCNT tips were opened by known chemical methods and H 2 O was inserted into the tubes via capillary action over periods up to 136 h. The wavenumbers in the OH bending region of H 2 O increase almost exponentially with H 2 O treatment time. Following H 2 O adsorption for 136 h, Raman spectra were also measured as a function of heat‐treatment temperature. These data lead to 0.07 eV for the H 2 O desorption energy from SWCNTs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.