This seminar will discuss experimental projects where the behavior of liquids is altered by confinement to nanoporous or microporous materials. In the first project, I will discuss how surfactant aids the displacement of oil by water in dead-end channels in spontaneous processes. The literature discusses three mechanisms for the role of surfactant: (1) decreasing the energy of the oil–water interface; (2) changing the contact angle to favor wetting by water; and (3) enhancing emulsification of oil in water.  However, our results strongly support an alternate hypothesis, that surfactants enhance emulsification of water in oil and that the transport of water to the solid surface pushes the oil out of the channel. This conclusion is reached through observation of oil displacement for various surfactant structures.  In the second project, I will discuss a new technique for measuring the behavior of fluids in nanoscale pores.  We have developed a wedge that contains all thicknesses of fluid from zero nanometers through to several micrometers.  Using fluorescence imaging, we can simultaneously determine the equilibrium and dynamic concentrations of dissolved species in the wedge at all thicknesses. The effect of the potential wall on the distribution of ions will be discussed for a range of concentrations, including at very high concentrations, where the decay length of the electrical potential increases with concentration.  I will also discuss how surfactant adsorbs under confinement. Results show that the aggregation state of the surfactant is a function of confinement.  In a case study, confinement induces aggregation to form a hydrophobic space, which can be sensed by adsorption of dyes. Therefore, it is not always valid to assume that the wettability changes that are observed in contact angle measurements apply to confined spaces, or that other properties of isolated surfaces are the same as in confinement.  Finally, I will discuss how evaporation is affected by confinement of liquids into thin films of porous material.