Effects of Stern layer conductance on electrokinetic energy conversion in nanofluidic channels

A thermo-electro-hydro-dynamic model is developed to analytically account for the effects of Stern layer conductance on electrokinetic energy conversion in nanofluidic channels. The optimum electrokinetic devices performance is dependent on a figure of merit, in which the Stern layer conductance appears as a nondimensional Dukhin number. Such surface conductance is found to significantly reduce the figure of merit and thus the efficiency and power output. This finding may explain why the recently measured electrokinetic devices performances are far below the theoretical predictions where the effects of Stern layer conductance have been ignored.     

Note on nonaqueous electrokinetic transport in charged porous media

A model for electrokinetic transport in charged capillaries is compared with experiments using nonaqueous lithium chloride solutions. The electrokinetic parameters considered are the pore fluid conductivity and the concentration potential. Methanol/water mixtures were the solvent, and track-etched mica membranes with a well-characterized pore structure were the porous medium. The electrolyte concentrations used were such that the Debye lengths of solutions in pores ranged from much smaller to much larger than the radius of pores. The space-charge model is found to be capable of qualitatively describing the trend of the electrokinetic data, but as expected, at higher concentrations the model fails, probably because the assumption that ion—ion interactions are negligible no longer holds. The experimental results show that the pore fluid conductivity depends strongly on the dielectric constant of the solvent, that the absolute value of the pore wall charge tends to decrease with the lowering of the solvent dielectric constant, and that the wall charge tends to increase with the concentration of the chloride ion.     

Molecular dynamics simulations on the adsorption and surface phenomena of simple fluid in porous media

Equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations have been used to investigate the fluid adsorption phenomena and calculate the surface tension in porous media at different temperatures, densities and pore widths. The facts that most of the fluid particles are adsorbed adherent to the pore walls and the surface forms near the walls have been found, and that the surface is not stable which means there exists an oscillation phenomenon in pores have been also found. The surface tension in pores is much bigger than that in macrovolume systems like normal liquid–liquid and liquid–vapor interfaces, and it will increase with the increase of density and pore width, but will decrease with the increase of temperature.     

The history of electrokinetic phenomena

Electrokinetic phenomena comprise the phenomena where a liquid moves tangentially to a charged surface. Well-known phenomena of this kind are electrophoresis, electro-osmosis, streaming potential and sedimentation potential. A historical review is given here, starting with their discovery by F.F. Reuss in 1808 and continuing with the early investigators including G. Wiedemann, G.Quincke, E. Dorn and U. Saxén. It is also discussed how electrokinetic phenomena gave rise to the concept electrical double layer in colloid science. The development of the theory starting with H. Helmholtz, continuing with M. Smoluchowski is described. Extension of the theory including relaxation and surface conduction is included. Finally the history of other kinds of electrokinetic phenomena such as electroacoustics and diffusiophoresis is treated.     

Review on penetration and transport phenomena in porous media during slot die coating

A distinctive field in the coatings industry is coating of porous media, which has broad applications including paper, textiles, electronics, filtration, and energy sectors. Fluid penetration is an important issue during direct coating of a liquid bead on porous media, which is driven by the pressure from an external flow field and the surface tension in the porous media. Generally, during the coating process, some level of penetration is desirable to obtain specific material properties, but inadequate or excessive penetration is detrimental. To help control the level of penetration, understanding relationships between operating parameters and penetration are highly desirable. In this article, the current state of academic research on modeling penetration in porous media during common coating processes, especially the slot die coating process, is reviewed. Specifically, the challenges, basic ideas, advantages, and disadvantages of macroscale, microscale, and pore-network models on penetration in porous media are discussed. This article concludes with some recommendations for future work. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 1669–1680     

Applications of electrokinetic phenomena in materials science

The discovery of electrokinetic phenomena by Reuss in 1808 and further investigations that gave rise to the concept of the electrical double layer have played an important role in the understanding of colloidal stability. Electrokinetic phenomena are a family of effects in which a liquid moves tangentially to a charged surface. Well-known phenomena of this kind are electrophoresis, electro-osmosis, streaming potential, and sedimentation potential. A review of parameters involved in the electrochemistry of suspensions is made. The practical applications of these phenomena have become widespread in a broad range of research fields such as biomaterials, biofilms, electrokinetic waste remediation, membranes, nuclear and fossil-fired power plants, adhesive and sealant science, and concrete science. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of electrokinetic phenomena and their application to surface modification and characterization in a large number of research fields such as corrosion and protection processes, environmental remediation (soil and sediments, transport processes, inorganic pollutants, solid particle surfaces, filter membranes, and biosorption phenomena), cement-based systems, and biological systems.     

Influence of the dynamic contact angle on the characterization of porous media

It has been shown recently that the classical Lucas-Washburn equation, often used to model the dynamics of liquid penetration into porous media, should be modified to take account of the dynamic contact angle between the liquid and the pore. Here we show how neglect of this effect can lead to significant errors in estimation of the effective pore radius.     

Permeability of media composed of impenetrable cylinders covered with porous layer

The liquid flow through a set of nonuniform porous cylinders with a impenetrable core are studied by the Happel—Brenner cell method. Different orientations of cylinders relative to the liquid flow, such as transverse, longitudinal, and random, are considered. Brinkman equations are used to describe the flow of liquid in the porous layer. All known boundary conditions on the cell surface (Happel, Kuwabara, Kvashnin, and Cunningham conditions) are considered. The models proposed can be used to describe the processes of reverse osmosis, as well as nano-and ultrafiltration.     

Hybrid electrokinetic manipulation in high-conductivity media

This study reports a hybrid electrokinetic technique for label-free manipulation of pathogenic bacteria in biological samples toward medical diagnostic applications. While most electrokinetic techniques only function in low-conductivity buffers, hybrid electrokinetics enables effective operation in high-conductivity samples, such as physiological fluids (～1 S m(-1)). The hybrid electrokinetic technique combines short-range electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis, and long-range AC electrothermal flow to improve its effectiveness. The major technical hurdle of electrode instability for manipulating high conductivity samples is tackled by using a Ti-Au-Ti sandwich electrode and a 3-parallel-electrode configuration is designed for continuous isolation of bacteria. The device operates directly with biological samples including urine and buffy coats. We show that pathogenic bacteria and biowarfare agents can be concentrated for over 3 orders of magnitude using hybrid electrokinetics.     

A quantitative theory of the Stern electric double layer

A quantitative theory of the Stern electric double layer is suggested. It is based on the view that every ion possesses a geometrical and an electrokinetic radius, that the ionic atmosphere begins from the geometrical one, and that the difference between these radii is the Stern quantity delta. The equations of the mentioned radii and the quantity delta are established and the values of the different potentials characterizing an ion and its ionic atmosphere are determined.     

Role of electrokinetic phenomena in the preparation of supported metal catalysts

A model accounting for the effect of electrokinetic phenomena on the prepartion of supported metal catalysts by wet impregnation is presented. The model is able to explain the dependence of catalyst distribution profile and loading on the concentration of the impregnant, on the pH and ionic strength of the impregnating solution, as well as on the presence of a co-impregnating species.     

Two-peak phenomena and formation origin in micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Since Terabe et al.[1] developed micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) in 1984, a great number of important advances about separating neutral compounds have been achieved. In MECC mode, micellar of an ionic surfactant can form so-called pseudo stationary phase in the buffer solution when it is above the critical micelle concentration, and some portions of the solute may be distributed into the micellar phase when they are mobilized into the buffer solution from sample zone…     

Influence of the Dukhin and Reynolds numbers on the apparent zeta potential of granular porous media

The Helmholtz-Smoluchowski (HS) equation is widely used to determine the apparent zeta potential of porous materials using the streaming potential method. We present a model able to correct this apparent zeta potential of granular media of the influence of the Dukhin and Reynolds numbers. The Dukhin number represents the ratio between the surface conductivity (mainly occurring in the Stern layer) and the pore water conductivity. The Reynolds number represents the ratio between inertial and viscous forces in the Navier-Stokes equation. We show here that the HS equation can lead to serious errors if it is used to predict the dependence of zeta potential on flow in the inertial laminar flow regime without taking into account these corrections. For indifferent 1:1 electrolytes (such as sodium chloride), we derived two simple scaling laws for the dependence of the streaming potential coupling coefficient (or the apparent zeta potential) on the Dukhin and Reynolds numbers. Our model is compared with a new set of experimental data obtained on glass bead packs saturated with NaCl solutions at different salinities and pH. We find fairly good agreement between the model and these experimental data.     

Influence of the semiconducting properties of a current collector on the electric double layer formation on porous carbon

The electrochemical behavior of polyacrylonitrile-based activated carbon cloth combined with a stainless steel current collector was examined using ac impedance spectroscopy. H(2)SO(4), KOH, and KNO(3) were employed as the electrolytes. The data presented in the impedance complex plane exhibit a semicircle at high frequencies followed by a vertical line at low frequencies. The high frequency data were found to be characteristic of the space charge region of the semiconducting oxide layer on the stainless steel, while the low frequency data depicted the double layer formation on the porous carbon. The double layer capacitance was found to decrease with the space charge resistance, which was potential dependent and a major contribution to the overall resistance of the carbon/stainless steel electrode. The electrolyte type affected the potential window employed in energy storage and thus the semiconducting behavior of the oxide layer. Both the n- and p-type semiconductors in depletion condition appeared within the potential window applied for the H(2)SO(4) electrolyte, and this caused the presence of a peak capacitance. Only the n-type depletion condition was found in the KNO(3) and KOH electrolytes with the p-type oxide situated in accumulation at the potentials applied, and thus, the capacitance was larger at more negative potentials.     

Influence of the three-dimensional heterogeneous roughness on electrokinetic transport in microchannels

Surface roughness has been considered as a passive means of enhancing species mixing in electroosmotic flow through microfluidic systems. It is highly desirable to understand the synergetic effect of three-dimensional (3D) roughness and surface heterogeneity on the electrokinetic flow through microchannels. In this study, we developed a three-dimensional finite-volume-based numerical model to simulate electroosmotic transport in a slit microchannel (formed between two parallel plates) with numerous heterogeneous prismatic roughness elements arranged symmetrically and asymmetrically on the microchannel walls. We consider that all 3D prismatic rough elements have the same surface charge or zeta potential, the substrate (the microchannel wall) surface has a different zeta potential. The results showed that the rough channel's geometry and the electroosmotic mobility ratio of the roughness elements' surface to that of the substrate, epsilon(mu), have a dramatic influence on the induced-pressure field, the electroosmotic flow patterns, and the electroosmotic flow rate in the heterogeneous rough microchannels. The associated sample-species transport presents a tidal-wave-like concentration field at the intersection between four neighboring rough elements under low epsilon(mu) values and has a concentration field similar to that of the smooth channels under high epsilon(mu) values.     

Capillary electrophoresis of inorganic anions in hydro-organic media. Influence of ion-pairing and solvation phenomena

The capillary electrophoresis separation of four inorganic anions (NO3-, I-, Br- and SCN-) was investigated over the whole range of methanol-water mixture composition. As the separation selectivity was strongly dependent on the solvent composition, the influence of ion-pairing and solvation phenomena was examined in depth in an attempt to explain this modification. First, a series of experiments was performed in methanolic background electrolytes, with counter-ions of different size. Ion-pair formation involving electrolyte ions was assessed to allow for a correction for free electrolyte ion concentration. Ion-pair formation constants between each inorganic anion and electrolyte counter-ion were next determined from the variations of the anion mobility as a function of the free counter-ion concentration. In view of the low values obtained, ion-pair formation alone failed to explain the selectivity variations. Solvation phenomena were then investigated with the help of a theoretical quantum model, the density functional theory (DFT), coupled with a polarizable continuum model to mime non-specific solvent effects. Whereas this model proved successful at predicting the mobility order at infinite dilution in water, it failed to predict the correct order in methanol.     

Influence of natural organic matter on the transport and deposition of zinc oxide nanoparticles in saturated porous media

The significance of natural organic matter (NOM, both humic acid and alginate) on the transport and deposition kinetics of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) in irregular quartz sand was examined by direct comparison of both breakthrough curves and retained profiles with NOM present in NPs suspension versus those obtained without NOM. Packed column experiments were conducted in both NaCl and CaCl(2) solutions under a series of environmentally relevant ionic strengths. Under all examined conditions, breakthrough plateaus with NOM even at concentration as low as 1mgL(-1) of total organic carbon (TOC) were higher than those without NOM, indicating that presence of NOM in NPs suspensions enhanced ZnO NPs transport. Although hyper-exponential retained profiles were observed both in the presence and absence of NOM, the amount of retained ZnO NPs acquired in the presence of NOM decreased slowly as the transport distance increased. Straining induced by concurrent aggregation is found to cause the hyper-exponential decrease. In the presence of NOM, electrosteric interaction effectively reduced the ZnO NPs deposition on collector surfaces and NPs-NPs aggregation. Subsequently, the amount of NPs that jammed in the column inlet in the absence of NOM were markedly decreased, which therefore exhibited as flatter retained profiles.     

Phase change in porous media

We review notable advances published in the year 1999 in the area of phase change and phase growth in porous media. Phase equilibria thermodynamics, particularly in micropores, and growth kinetics, emphasizing the pore-network structure, are highlighted. Advances reported include the effects of confinement in phase transitions in micropores, and of the pore microstructure in the growth and dissolution of gas and liquid phases with applications ranging from capillary condensation to drying to gas evolution to condensation.