Electrokinetics of Nanochannels: The Next Nanotechnology for Ion/Molecule/Nanocolloid Sensing, Concentration and Filtration

Because nanochannels act as lenses that can focus electric fields on a chip, they can concentrate and filter ions, molecules and nanocolloids by ion selectivity, electrodeless dielectrophoresis and surface hybridization. However, before fabricated nanochannels can lead to the next-generation of chip-scale dialysis membranes, preconcentrators for mass spectrometers, ion sieves, molecular sensors, solar/fuel cell membranes etc, the anomalous dc I-V characteristics and ac impedance of such nanochannels must be understood. Curious phenomena such as limiting and over-limiting currents, rectification, hysteretic cyclic voltametry, Warburg impedance, channel cross-talk etc will be studied with fabricated nanochannels, confocal microscopy and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and analyzed mathematically with fundamental Nernst-Planck ion transport theories, Guoy-Chapman equilibrium electrolyte theories and new non-equilibrium extended polarization theories.