Ionic current through a nanopore three nanometers in diameter

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2009 Aug;80(2 Pt 1):021918. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.80.021918. Epub 2009 Aug 18.

Abstract

Ionic current through a 3 nm in diameter nanopore has been investigated using molecular dynamics. Results indicate that the ionic current increases linearly as the electrolyte concentration increases from 0.4 to 0.9 M, beyond which the ionic current increases at a slower rate. In contradiction to the expectation that higher surface charge density will lead to more ions in the nanopore, and therefore, higher ionic current, the ionic current shows an increase-decrease profile as the surface charge density increases. These unusual observations are attributed to the fact that ions close to the wall experience large viscous force, leading to low mobility.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Electric Conductivity
  • Ions / chemistry*
  • Kinetics
  • Linear Models
  • Models, Chemical*
  • Nanotechnology*
  • Porosity
  • Sodium / chemistry
  • Sodium Chloride / chemistry
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Ions
  • Sodium Chloride
  • Sodium