Title: Electroosmotic Flow and Electrophoresis in Nanochannels
Abstract: Electrokinetic transport phenomena in small nanochannels can be very different from that in microchannels and larger nanochannels. This is because the size matters. Generally, as the characteristic dimension of the system decreases, the surface area to volume ratio of the flow channel increases. Consequently, the effects associated with the channel wall surface increase. Because most solid–liquid interfaces have electrostatic charge and consequently an electric double layer field, the interfacial electrokinetic phenomena will play more important roles in nanoscale transport processes. Particularly, because of the overlap of electric double layer (EDL) fields in small nanochannels, and the potential of electric double layer field and the net charge density in the middle plane of the channel are not zero, some traditional theories of electric double field that are used in modeling the electrokinetic transport processes in microchannels are no longer applicable to the situations in small nanochannels. The key factor that limits the development of experimental nanofluidics research and the applications of nanofluidic devices is the ability of fabrication of nanochannels. In order to advance nanofluidics research and improve the understanding of electrokinetic phenomena in nanofluidics, it is highly desirable to develop practical and inexpensive methods of making small nanochannels, so that conducting systematic experimental research on electrokinetic transport phenomena in small nanochannels can be possible. Therefore, in this chapter, a novel approach of fabricating single small nanochannels by nano-crack method is reviewed. Using this method, electroosmotic flow and single nano-particle electrophoresis in small nanochannels are studied systemically and the results reveal many novel insights.
Publication Year: 2022
Publication Date: 2022-11-19
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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