Patent ID: 7972560

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a nanowire having a body and an outer surface; the nanowire having a body length of about 10 nanometers to about 1 micrometer; the nanowire having a diameter of about 0.1 nanometers to about 100 nanometers; a reservoir at a position along the nanowire and in contact therewith, operable to contain material to be dispensed; a carbon shell encapsulating at least a part of the nanowire, the carbon shell comprising at least one layer of graphene; wherein in a storage mode, the apparatus is adapted to store the material to be dispensed, comprising a carbon shell fully encapsulating the reservoir, the carbon shell comprising at least one layer of graphene, and wherein in a dispensing mode, the apparatus is operable to dispense droplets of the material, further comprising a channel formed in the carbon shell encapsulating the reservoir, the channel having a diameter of from approximately 0.5 nanometers to approximately 20 nanometers.