Related papers: Reversible Pore Gating in Aqueous Mixtures via Ext…
We propose a mechanism for the stabilization/destabilization of cell membranes by multivalent ions with an emphasis on its implications for the division and fusion of cells. We find that multivalent cations preferentially adsorbed onto a…
Nanopores in solid state membranes are a tool able to probe nanofluidic phenomena or can act as a single molecular sensor. They also have diverse applications in filtration, desalination or osmotic power generation. Many of these…
We briefly review the effects of selective solvation of ions in aqueous mixtures, where the ion densities and the composition fluctuations are strongly coupled. We then examine the surface tension \gamma of a liquid-liquid interface in the…
Recent experimental work has suggested that electroosmotic flows (EOF) through conical nanopores exhibit rectification in the opposite sense to the well-studied effect of ionic current rectification. A positive bias voltage generates large…
Porous electrodes are found in energy storage devices such as supercapacitors and pseudocapacitors. However, the effect of electrode-pore-size distribution over their energy storage properties remains unclear. Here, we develop a model for…
A polarity-dependent reversible change in the current-voltage characteristics between states corresponding to different values of the excess current ${{I}_{exc}}$ is observed for bias voltages of several hundred millivolts in…
Diffusion rates through a membrane can be asymmetric, if the diffusing particles are spatially extended and the pores in the membrane have asymmetric structure. This phenomenon is demonstrated here via a deterministic simulation of a…
We consider a layered superconductor with a complex order parameter whose phase switches sign from one layer to the next. This system is shown to exhibit gapless superconductivity for sufficiently large interlayer pairing or interlayer…
The properties of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are determined by the electrochemical and kinetic properties of their constituent materials as well as by their underlying microstructure. Microstructural design can be leveraged to…
Stimuli-responsive materials that modify their shape in response to changes in environmental conditions -- such as solute concentration, temperature, pH, and stress -- are widespread in nature and technology. Applications include micro- and…
We present theory for ion and water transport through reverse osmosis membranes based on a Maxwell-Stefan framework combined with hydrodynamic theory for the reduced motion of particles in thin pores. We include all driving forces and…
Reverse electrodialysis is a promising method to harvest the osmotic energy stored between seawater and freshwater, but it has been a long-standing challenge to fabricate permselective membranes with the power density surpassing the…
We investigate the concept of molecular-sized outward-swinging gate, which allows for entropy decrease in an isolated system. The theoretical analysis, the Monte Carlo simulation, and the direct solution of governing equations all suggest…
Direct numerical simulations are used to elucidate the interplay of wettability and fluid viscosities on immiscible fluid displacements in a heterogeneous porous medium.We classify the flow regimes based using qualitative and quantitative…
Diffusion of colored dye on water saturated paper substrates has been traditionally exploited with great skill by renowned water color artists. The same physics finds more recent practical applications in paper based diagnostic devices…
The evolution of porous structure and mechanical properties of binary glasses under tensile loading were examined using molecular dynamics simulations. We consider vitreous systems obtained in the process of phase separation after a rapid…
The ability of semipermeable membranes to selectively impede the transport of undesirable solutes is key to many applications. Yet, obtaining a systematic understanding of how membrane structure affects selectivity remains elusive due to…
We show that periodically driven superconducting vortices in the presence of quenched disorder exhibit a transition from reversible to irreversible flow under increasing vortex density or cycle period. This type of behavior has recently…
Nanoscale materials are a promising desalination technology. While fast water flow in nanotubes is well understood, this is not the case for water permeability in single-layer membranes. The physical-chemical balance between nanopore size,…
Ionic transport in nano- to sub-nano-scale pores is highly dependent on translocation barriers and potential wells. These features in the free-energy landscape are primarily the result of ion dehydration and electrostatic interactions. For…