The electrokinetic transport of methanol and four amino acid cations, glycine, beta alanine, valine, and glutamic acid, through a 2.25-nm-single-walled carbon nanotube was investigated.  Methanol, being neutral, was found to have a transport velocity that is independent of applied voltage.  The methanol transport properties are well-described by a model based on the analytical solution of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation for cylindrical channels.  The methanol flow velocity through the carbon nanotube nanopore is driven by proton flow through the nanotube and influenced by the surface charge on the nanotube walls.  Separately, the motion of the amino acid cations glycine, beta alanine, valine, and glutamic acid were found to be caused by the applied electric field.  All of these ions exhibited a tail at long transit times, which is attributed to adsorption and desorption of the ions at the nanotube wall during transport through the tube.  These results increase our knowledge of the flow of molecules and ions in nanoconfined environments.

Electrokinetic transport of small molecules and ions through single-walled carbon nanotubes

256th National Meeting (2018)

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