Nanoscale pumping of water by AC electric fields.

Journal article

Using molecular dynamics simulations we demonstrate pumping of water through a carbon nanotube by time-dependent electric fields. The fields are generated by electrodes with oscillating charges in a broad gigahertz frequency range that are attached laterally to the tube. The key ingredient is a phase shift between the electrodes to break the spatiotemporal symmetry. A microscopic theory based on a polarization-dragging mechanism accounts quantitatively for our numerical findings.

Authors: Rinne, K; Gekle, S; Bonthuis, D; Netz, R

• Journal: Nano letters
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 1780-1783
• Publication date: 2012-04-01
• DOI: 10.1021/nl203614t
• EISSN: 1530-6992
• ISSN: 1530-6984
• Language: English
• Keywords: carbon nanotubes; molecular dynamics; polarization-dragging; electrokinetic pumping; Nanofluidics