Influence of location junction on ion transfer behavior in conical nanopores with bipolar polyelectrolyte brushes

Abstract

A bipolar ion diode consists of two positively and negatively charged surfaces that show the distribution of specific ions under different applied voltages. One of the most important electrokinetic phenomena occurring in bipolar nanopores is ionic current rectification (ICR). ICR in nanopores occur when, by applying a voltage to both ends of a nanochannel, the system exhibits non-linear current-voltage behavior or diode-like behavior, in other words, ionic current occurs in a specific direction. In modeling bipolar soft nanochannels, it is usually assumed that the properties of the soft layer and the electrolyte are the same, which is not true for soft layers with high charge densities. In the present work, the effect of sharp and wide aperture radius of nanochannels on ionic current rectification in bipolar nanochannels by coating polyelectrolytic layer with conical geometry in different values of soft layer lengths was studied. For this purpose, by adopting a numerical calculation approach Finite element, Poisson-Nernst-Planck and Navier-Stokes equations were solved for steady-state by considering different permeability values, diffusion coefficient, and dynamic viscosity for polyelectrolyte and electrolyte In general, it can be concluded that the bipolar conical nanopore has a higher ICR than the cylinder geometry with the same average radius If the junction is at the tip of the nanopore. For example, when the mole concentration was equal to c0=50mM, the ICR for the bipolar conical nanopore with a soft layer with an optimal junction at the tip of the nanopore reached 45, while in the bipolar cylindrical nanopore at best (the optimal junction in the middle of the nanopore) reached 25.