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Updated: Mar 17, 2026

Merging Ion Concentration Polarization between Juxtaposed Ion Exchange Membranes to Block the Propagation of the Polarization Zone
Published on: February 23, 2017
Induced-charge electrokinetics, bipolar current, and concentration polarization in a microchannel-Nafion-membrane
Sinwook Park1, Gilad Yossifon1
1Micro- and Nanofluidics Laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City 32000, Israel.
Abstract:
The presence of a floating electrode array located within the depletion layer formed due to concentration polarization across a microchannel-membrane interface device may produce not only induced-charge electro-osmosis (ICEO) but also bipolar current resulting from the induced Faradaic reaction. It has been shown that there exists an optimal thickness of a thin dielectric coating that is sufficient to suppress bipolar currents but still enables ICEO vortices that stir the depletion layer, thereby affecting the system's current-voltage response. In addition, the use of alternating-current electro-osmosis by activating electrodes results in further enhancement of the fluid stirring and opens new routes for on-demand spatiotemporal control of the depletion layer length.
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