Dependence of single-walled carbon nanotube adsorption kinetics on temperature and binding energy.

We present results for the isothermal adsorption kinetics of methane, hydrogen, and tetrafluoromethane on closed-ended single-walled carbon nanotubes. In these experiments, we monitor the pressure decrease as a function of time as equilibrium is approached, after a dose of gas is added to the cell containing the nanotubes. The measurements were performed at different fractional coverages limited to the first layer. The results indicate that, for a given coverage and temperature, the equilibration time is an increasing function of E/(k(B)T), where E is the binding energy of the adsorbate and k(B)T is the thermal energy. These findings are consistent with recent theoretical predictions and computer simulations results that we use to interpret the experimental measurements.