Fundamentals and modeling of electrokinetic transport in nanochannels

Abstract

When the channel size approaches the thickness of the charged layer (typically, â10-100 nm), the resulting molecular and non-equilibrium effects are markedly different from those observed in larger channels and have a significant effect on the transport behavior of solutes and solvents. As a result, the problem of modeling fluidic behavior at the nanoscale has attracted increasing interest in recent years. This review introduces the fundamental theories and principles associated with electrokinetic transport and molecular dynamics modeling, and discusses various applications of nanofluidic devices in the physics, mechanics, and chemistry fields.