Nanofluidics in carbon nanotubes

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Nanofluidics is formally classified as the study of the behavior, manipulation, and control of fluids in devices having at least one dimension less than 100 nm. This proposal describes a research program that explores an extreme regime of nanofluidics (at sub-10 nm), where continuum hydrodynamics theories start to break down and new fluid behaviors emerge. For instance, water travels inside frictionless carbon nanotube inner core of 7 nm at a velocity 4 to 5 orders higher than that predicted by classical theories. This type of enhanced fluid transport is only observed otherwise in the biological nanopores, such as aquaporin proteins which form the "plumbing" systems of cells. It is only recently that advancements in technology, in particular material sciences and micro/nanofabrication, allowed scientists to create artificial nanochannels and nanopores to explore the long established natural mechanisms of biological nanopores. In this proposal, we outline our short and long term goals in addressing fundamental scientific and engineering challenges in nanofluidics at sub 10-nm scale, which could lead to significant applications in chemical separation and analysis, tissue engineering, disease diagnostics, and wastewater treatment.