Nanofluidics in carbon nanotubes

纳米流体学被正式分类为研究至少一维小于100 nm的装置中流体的行为、操纵和控制。该提案描述了一项研究计划，该计划探索了纳米流体的极端状态（低于10 nm），连续流体力学理论开始崩溃，新的流体行为出现。例如，水在7 nm的无摩擦碳纳米管内核中的速度比经典理论预测的速度高4到5个数量级。这种类型的增强的流体运输仅在生物纳米孔中观察到，例如形成细胞的“管道”系统的水通道蛋白。直到最近，技术的进步，特别是材料科学和微/纳米纤维，使科学家能够创造人工纳米通道和纳米孔，以探索生物纳米孔的长期建立的自然机制。在这份提案中，我们概述了我们在解决10 nm以下纳米流体的基本科学和工程挑战方面的短期和长期目标，这可能会导致化学分离和分析，组织工程，疾病诊断和废水处理的重大应用。

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.