Competition between electroosmotic and chemiosmotic flow in charged nanofluidics

Abstract

In electrolyte solutions, charged nanoscale pores or channels with overlapping electrical double layers are charge selective, thereby benefiting a wide range of applications such as desalination, bio-sensing, membrane technology, and renewable energy. As an important forcing mechanism, a gradient of electrolyte concentration along a charged nano-confinement can drive flow without an external electrical field or applied pressure difference. In this paper, we numerically investigate such a diffusioosmotic nanoflow, particularly for dilute electrolyte concentrations (0.01 mM–1 mM), and calculate the corresponding electrical and concentration fields in a charged nanochannel connecting two reservoirs of different salt concentrations—a typical fluidic configuration for a variety of experimental applications. Under a wide range of parameters, the simulation results show that the flow speed inside the nanochannel is linearly dependent on the concentration difference between the two reservoir solutions, Δc, whereas the flow direction is primarily influenced by three key parameters: nanochannel length (l), height (h), and surface charge density (σ). Through a comparison of the chemiosmotic (due to ion-concentration difference) and electroosmotic (as a result of the induced electric field) components of this diffusioosmotic flow, a non-dimensional number (C=h/lλGC) has been identified to delineate different nanoscale flow directions in the charged nanochannel, where λGC is a characteristic (so-called Gouy–Chapman) length associated with surface charge and inversely proportional to σ. This critical dimensionless parameter, dependent on the above three key nanochannel parameters, can help in providing a feasible strategy for flow control in a charged nanochannel.