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Chemical Sensing and Chemoresponsive Pumping with Conical-Pore Polymeric Membranes
Stevie N Bush1, Thomas T Volta1, Charles R Martin1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 5, 2020
Summary
Synthetic membranes with charged, asymmetric pores rectify ionic current and electroosmotic flow (EOF). This ion current rectification and EOF rectification enable novel sensing technologies and chemoresponsive nanofluidic pumps.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Synthetic membranes with asymmetrically shaped pores exhibit ion-current rectification, producing nonlinear current-voltage curves.
- Pore-wall surface charge is essential for observing ion-current rectification and enabling electroosmotic flow (EOF).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the rectification of electroosmotic flow (EOF) in synthetic membranes with asymmetrically shaped pores.
- To explore the application of ion-current and EOF rectification in developing advanced sensing technologies and nanofluidic devices.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of synthetic membranes with asymmetrically shaped pores.
- Characterization of ion-current rectification and electroosmotic flow (EOF) behavior under varying voltage polarities.
- Development and testing of ion-current-based sensors and chemoresponsive nanofluidic pumps.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that ion-current rectification in these membranes leads to rectified electroosmotic flow (EOF).
- Showcased an ion-current-based sensor for detecting hydrophobic cations.
- Presented results from a prototype chemoresponsive nanofluidic pump for Pb2+ detection.
Conclusions:
- Ion-current and EOF rectification in synthetic membranes offer promising avenues for new sensing technologies.
- The combination of these rectification phenomena enables the development of innovative chemoresponsive nanofluidic pumps for targeted chemical detection.
