Enhanced water permeability and tunable ion selectivity in subnanometer carbon nanotube porins
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory · Northeastern University · +1 more institution
Abstract
Fast water transport through carbon nanotube pores has raised the possibility to use them in the next generation of water treatment technologies. We report that water permeability in 0.8-nanometer-diameter carbon nanotube porins (CNTPs), which confine water down to a single-file chain, exceeds that of biological water transporters and of wider CNT pores by an order of magnitude. Intermolecular hydrogen-bond rearrangement, required for entry into the nanotube, dominates the energy barrier and can be manipulated to enhance water transport rates. CNTPs block anion transport, even at salinities that exceed seawater levels, and their ion selectivity can be tuned to configure them into switchable ionic diodes. These…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 31.75
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 73
Authors
6- RTRamya TunuguntlaCorresponding
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- RYRobert Y. HenleyCorresponding
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Northeastern University
- YYYun‐Chiao Yao
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, Merced
- TATuan Anh Pham
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- MWMeni Wanunu
Northeastern University
Topics & keywords
- Carbon nanotube
- Water transport
- Nanotube
- Ionic bonding
- Intermolecular force
- Membrane
- Selectivity
- Hydrogen bond