Effect of Vibration on Water Transport through Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

We study the response of water permeation properties through a carbon nanotube on the time-dependent mechanical signals. It is found that there is a critical frequency of vibrating fc (about 1333 GHz) which plays a significant role in the water permeation properties. The total water flow, the net flux, the number of hydrogen bonds and the dipole flipping frequency of the single-file water chain inside the nanotube are almost unchanged for the frequency of vibrating f < fc. Simulation results show that the nanotube can be effectively resistant to the mechanical noise. Such excellent effect of noise screening is attributed to the exceptional property of water molecules connected by strong hydrogen bonds with each other and forming a one-dimensional water chain inside the nanotube. Our findings are important for the understanding of why biological systems can achieve accurate information transfer in an environment full of fluctuations.