Elucidating Hydrodynamics at Confined Interfaces for Artificial Active Fluidics and Beyond

阐明人工主动流体学及其他领域的受限界面处的流体动力学

• 批准号: MR/X03660X/1
• 负责人: Vasu Siddeswara Kalangi
• 金额: $ 129.25万
• 依托单位: Newcastle University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FX03660X%2F1
• 关键词: Elucidating; Hydrodynamics; Confined; Interfaces; Artificial

The surfaces of the living cells that make up our bodies consist of exquisitely engineered tiny pores of size less than a nanometer (i.e., one ten-thousandth of the diameter of a human hair). Nature has evolved these pores to efficiently harness inter-molecular forces and surface effects for achieving exceptional water/ion selectivity and ion transport even counter to concentration gradients. Therefore, they play a critical role in functioning of human kidneys to remove waste/extra-fluids from the blood and, allow brain-cells (i.e., neurons) to generate electrical pulses required for the brain to sense and compute. For example, concentration gradients driven ion transport across a neuron cell membrane generates electrical signals and transmit them with speeds of tens of meters per second as a means of communication. The proposed research aims at making similar pores inside a laboratory to make (i) artificial fluidic devices that allow direct communication to/from cells in their language (exchanging ions/water molecules), and (ii) membranes for producing energy by mixing fresh water with seawater and energy efficient removal of salt from seawater with minimal production of carbon dioxide.Unlike water flow in a garden hose, the physics of fluidic motion through the pores of nanometer-size is barely understood. Also, machine-made pores still struggle to separate ions (like sodium and potassium) with similar size and properties. Therefore, there remains much to be understood on fundamental issues such as friction of liquids on solid surfaces, mechanisms for enhanced molecular separation, and ionic transport in confined geometries and its control. The proposed research aims at establishing a comprehensive understanding of how ions/water molecules interact with the walls of machine-made tiny pores under extreme confinements. This will be achieved through investigation of microscopic flows (in terms of flow rate/ionic flux) emerging out of such tiny pores while tuning electric conductivity and electric charge of the walls of the pore. These studies will provide a systematic realization of friction for liquids on solid surfaces with quantification, which acts as reference for choosing appropriate channel wall materials for precisely controlling the fluidic transport at confined geometries to achieve enhanced water/ion selectivity like biological pores. Throughout this Fellowship, I will also develop essential theoretical understanding and advanced modelling at fundamental/device level for advancing the experiments and optimization of device-prototyping.Building on these findings, this fellowship will establish the fabrication of (i) artificial fluidic devices for ion-transport based bioelectronic interfaces and memory devices and (ii) membranes for water purification and energy harvesting from salt-concentration gradients. From the fourth year of this Fellowship, I will work with Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre at Manchester to scale up fluidic devices and membrane fabrication for energy and environmental applications with an aim of contributing to the UK's Energy Independence and achieving net zero greenhouse gases emission by 2050.Further to this Fellowship, my team and I will develop schemes for the experimental determination of the molecular arrangement in confined geometries to rationalize its contribution on confined fluidic transport. Therefore, this Fellowship comprehensively addresses knowledge gaps in present-day nanofluidics research and paves path to establish a new direction of research at the interface of confined fluidic transport, surface science and solid-state physics. All this, besides producing high-impact publications and patents, enables me to grow as a leader in this field to progress towards my long-term aim of establishing Nature-Inspired Nanofluidics Research Center in the UK to address a number of Grand Challenges (clean growth; sustainability; water and energy for food) across the world.

构成我们身体的活细胞表面由尺寸小于一纳米的精心设计的微孔组成（即，人类头发直径的万分之一）。自然界已经进化出这些孔来有效地利用分子间力和表面效应，以实现卓越的水/离子选择性和离子传输，甚至与浓度梯度相反。因此，它们在人类肾脏的功能中起关键作用，以从血液中去除废物/额外流体，并允许脑细胞（即，神经元）来产生大脑感知和计算所需的电脉冲。例如，浓度梯度驱动的跨神经元细胞膜的离子运输产生电信号，并以每秒数十米的速度将其作为通信手段进行传输。拟议的研究旨在在实验室内制造类似的孔，以制造（i）人工流体装置，允许用细胞语言直接与细胞进行交流（交换离子/水分子），和（ii）用于通过将淡水与海水混合来产生能量的膜，以及在最少产生二氧化碳的情况下从海水中节能地去除盐。通过纳米尺寸的孔的流体运动的物理学几乎不被理解。此外，机器制造的孔隙仍然难以分离具有相似尺寸和性质的离子（如钠和钾）。因此，仍有许多基本问题，如固体表面上的液体摩擦，提高分子分离的机制，离子在有限的几何形状和控制的传输，仍有待了解。拟议的研究旨在全面了解离子/水分子如何在极端限制下与机器制造的微孔壁相互作用。这将通过研究从这些微小孔隙中出现的微观流动（就流速/离子通量而言），同时调整孔隙壁的电导率和电荷来实现。这些研究将为液体在固体表面上的摩擦提供一个系统的实现与量化，这作为选择合适的通道壁材料的参考，以精确控制流体传输在有限的几何形状，以实现增强的水/离子选择性，如生物孔。在整个奖学金期间，我还将在基础/设备层面上发展必要的理论理解和先进的建模，以推进实验和优化设备原型。在这些发现的基础上，该奖学金将建立（i）用于离子传输的人工流体设备的生物电子接口和存储设备以及（ii）用于水净化和盐浓度梯度能量收集的膜的制造。从该奖学金的第四年开始，我将与曼彻斯特的石墨烯工程创新中心合作，扩大用于能源和环境应用的流体设备和膜制造，旨在为英国的能源独立做出贡献，并在2050年实现净零温室气体排放。我和我的团队将开发实验测定受限几何结构中分子排列的方案，以合理化其对受限流体传输的贡献。因此，该奖学金全面解决了当今纳米流体研究中的知识空白，并为在受限流体传输，表面科学和固态物理学的界面上建立新的研究方向铺平了道路。所有这一切，除了产生高影响力的出版物和专利，使我能够成长为这一领域的领导者，朝着我在英国建立自然启发的纳米流体研究中心的长期目标前进，以解决世界各地的一些重大挑战（清洁增长;可持续性;水和能源食品）。