Electrokinetic ion transport of viscoelastic fluids in a pH-regulated nanochannel

Abstract

The objects of nanofluidics-based biological detection are usually viscoelastic fluids, and the rheological properties of viscoelastic fluids can have complex effects on electroosmotic flow and electrokinetic ion transport in nanochannels. However, researchers have mainly focused on Newtonian fluids. In this study, numerical simulations were performed on the electrokinetic ion transport of viscoelastic fluids in a pH-regulated nanochannel. The Oldroyd-B model is used to describe the behavior of the polyacrylamide (PAM) solution, and the Poisson-Nernst-Planck model is used to describe the potential and ion concentration in the electrolyte solution. Compared with the Newtonian fluid, at pH = 8, the PAM solution of cp = 500 ppm has a larger region of low ion concentration in front of the nanochannel entrance and has a larger region of high ion concentration behind the nanochannel exit. When the pH is increased to 8, the surface charge density |σw| increases sharply, which is about 5 times of that at pH = 6. At pH = 8, cKCl = 20 mM, and cp = 500 ppm, two distinct vortices appear behind the nanochannel exit, and rotate in opposite directions.