Modeling of electrokinetic transport in silica nanofluidic channels

We present a theoretical and numerical modeling study of the multiphysicochemical process in electrokinetic transport in silica nanochannels. The electrochemical boundary condition is solved by considering both the chemical equilibrium on solid-liquid interfaces and the salt concentration enrichment caused by the double layer interaction. The transport behavior is modeled numerically by solving the governing equations using the lattice Poisson-Boltzmann method. The framework is validated by good agreements with the experimental data for all range of ionic concentrations. The modeling results suggest that when the double layers interact, the bulk salt concentration enrichment results in the saturation of conductances for low ionic concentrations. Both the streaming conductance and the electrical conductance are enhanced by the double layer interaction, and such enhancements diminish when the channel size is larger than 10 times of the Debye length. The streaming conductance increases with pH almost linearly when pH < 8, while the electrical conductance increases with pH exponentially.     

Electroviscous effect on the streaming current in a pH-regulated nanochannel

Accurate and rapid estimation of the streaming current in nanochannels is crucial for the development of the nanofluidics based power generation apparatus. In this study, an analytical model is developed for the first time to examine the electroviscous effect on the streaming current/conductance in a pH-regulated nanochannel by considering practical effects of multiple ionic species, surface chemistry reactions, and the Stern layer. Predictions from the model are in good agreement with the experimental results of the streaming conductance in silica nanochannels available in the literature. The electroviscous effect could have a significant reduction of ca. 30% in the streaming conductance at medium pH and low salt concentration.     

On the behavior of electrokinetic streaming potential during protein filtration with fully and partially retentive nanopores

An experimental investigation of the electrokinetic streaming potentials of both fully and partially retentive nanopores as compared with the filtration progress of dilute globular protein solution under different surface charge conditions was performed using hollow fibers. The streaming potential is generated by the electrokinetic flow effect within the electric double layer of the charged surface. Depending on the solution pH, both the protein and the pore wall can be either repulsive or attractive due to the long-range electrostatic interaction. The repulsive electrostatic interaction allows the protein particles to stay in a suspended state above the outer surface of hollow fibers instead of being deposited. The apparent streaming potential value at partially retentive pores is larger than that at fully retentive pores for the oppositely charged case; however, the opposite behavior is shown for the same-charged case. The axial-position-dependent streaming potential was also observed in order to explore the development of a concentration polarization layer during the cross-flow filtration. The time evolution of the streaming potential during the filtration of protein particles is related to the filtrate flux, from which it can be found to provide useful real-time information on particle deposition onto the outer surfaces of hollow fibers.     

The electrical double layer on gold probed by electrokinetic and surface force measurements

Gold surfaces, obtained by vacuum deposition of 15-nm gold films on glass and silica wafers, were studied in aqueous solutions by streaming potential measurements and colloidal-probe AFM force measurements. In the force measurements both a bare and a gold-coated silica particle (6 microm in diameter) have been used as colloidal probes. From the streaming potential measurements we determined the zeta-potential of the gold surface, while from the force measurements the diffuse double-layer potential psi(d) was obtained by fitting the data to the DLVO theory or to the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation. Measured interactions were found to be entirely due to overlap of electric double layers with no indication of attractive Van der Waals forces. Results of both types of measurements are in good agreement. The double layer potential strongly depends on the pH, probably as a result of the presence of oxide species on the gold surface. Insight in the double layer potential of polarizable interfaces such as the gold/electrolyte solution interface is the first step for understanding the effect of externally applied potentials on the adsorption behavior of charged species.     

Fe~(2+)/H_2O_2对脲醛树脂胶ζ电位及其稳定性的影响

采用胶体化学的方法对Fe2+/H2O2影响脲醛树脂(UF)胶ζ电位及其稳定性的因素进行了研究。结果表明,在pH=8.0时,脲醛树脂胶粒的ζ电位平均值约-32.5mV,粒子带负电,并以单分散形式存在。随着Fe2+离子或H2O2加入量的增加,脲醛树脂胶ζ电位的绝对值迅速减小,从而使胶粒间排斥势垒降低,胶粒发生聚集,体系粘度随之增大并最终产生凝胶。其中,Fe2+离子对脲醛树脂胶粒的ζ电位和粘度η变化的影响幅度比H2O2更为明显。pH值对胶体稳定性的影响主要表现在,pH值约为9时,体系具有最大的ζ电位,除此之外,pH值增大或减小ζ电位的绝对值均迅速减小,其中pH9时ζ电位的绝对值下降幅度更为明显。采用胶体的双电层理论对Fe2+/H2O2影响脲醛树脂胶稳定性的机理进行了探讨。     

Isoelectric point of fluorite by direct force measurements using atomic force microscopy

Interaction forces between a fluorite (CaF2) surface and colloidal silica were measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in 1 x 10(-3) M NaNO3 at different pH values. Forces between the silica colloid and fluorite flat were measured at a range of pH values above the isoelectric point (IEP) of silica so that the forces were mainly controlled by the fluorite surface charge. In this way, the IEP of the fluorite surface was deduced from AFM force curves at pH approximately 9.2. Experimental force versus separation distance curves were in good agreement with theoretical predictions based on long-range electrostatic interactions, allowing the potential of the fluorite surface to be estimated from the experimental force curves. AFM-deduced surface potentials were generally lower than the published zeta potentials obtained from electrokinetic methods for powdered samples. Differences in methodology, orientation of the fluorite, surface carbonation, and equilibration time all could have contributed to this difference.     

Evaluating the surface charge of C18 stationary phases

The surface charge of four C18 stationary phases was investigated by measuring the flow induced streaming potential, a well known electrokinetic property of charged surfaces. Three of the stationary phases (Symmetry, Gemini, and Xterra-MS) had significantly positive streaming potentials at both pH 3 and 4.5. The fourth (Zorbax-SB) appeared to be essentially neutral at pH 3 and became negative at pH 4.5. Apparent zeta potentials ranged from approximately +16 to -4 mV. The retention behavior was also investigated using chloride as model anion and glycinamide (in its protonated form) as model cation. When the retention factor (k) of glycinamide was subtracted from k of chloride anion, the resulting delta k values showed very similar trends as apparent zeta potential values, suggesting that the simple chromatographic method could be used to estimate zeta potential values, or that the zeta potential values could be useful for ranking columns according to ion exchange or exclusion behavior. The anion exchange capacity of the Symmetry and Gemini columns was also estimated, using a published chromatographic procedure, and the results suggest about 2 microEq. capacity per gram of packing.     

An improved method for determining zeta potential and pore conductivity of porous materials

An improved method based on streaming potential and streaming current was proposed to determine zeta potential and surface conductance of porous material simultaneously. In the electrokinetic generation mode, a resistor is connected to the generator and by measuring the voltage drop across resistors with different resistance, a true streaming current can be determined. The zeta potential and surface conductivity can be obtained simultaneously from their relation to streaming potential and streaming current. The electrode and ion concentration polarization effects during the measurement were also discussed. The resistance from channel ends to electrodes, which has typically been ignored in the literature, was shown to have a significant influence on the calculated zeta potential and surface conductance. Ignorance of this resistance would lead to underestimation of both zeta potential and surface conductance values.     

Characterization of chitosan nanofiber fabric by electrospray deposition: electrokinetic and adsorption behavior

Cationic biopolymer nanofiber fabrics were prepared from a chitosan/poly(ethylene oxide) blend solution by electrospray deposition. Their electrokinetic properties and DNA adsorption behavior were analyzed as a function of pH. The zeta potential was determined from streaming potential/streaming current measurements. The adsorption of DNA onto the fabrics was investigated by spectrophotoscopy. The adsorption behavior of DNA correlated well with the electrokinetic properties of the fabrics. This revealed that the electrokinetic approach was a useful option for characterization of novel nanofiber assemblies made by the electrostatic spray process. In addition, these results provided fundamental information about chitosan nanofiber fabrics for both biomedical and analytical applications.     

Characterization of capillary inner surface conditions with streaming potential

Streaming potential is created when an electrolyte solution is forced to flow pass a charged surface. For an uncoated fused silica capillary, the streaming potential is measured between the inlet and outlet vials while applying a pressure across the capillary. The changes in streaming potential can be used to characterize the properties of the capillary inner surface. In this work, HCl, NaCl, and NaOH solutions ranging from 0.4 to 6 mM were used as the background electrolyte (BGE) at temperatures of 15 to 35 °C for the mesurements. The streaming potential decreases with the increase in BGE concentration, and the trend is amplified at higher temperatures. When buffer solutions in the pH range of 1.5 to 12.7 were used as the BGE, streaming potential was shown to be sensitive to changes in pH but reaches a maximum at around 9.5. At pH < 3.3, no streaming potentials were observed. The pH of zero surface charge (streaming potential equals 0) changes with temperature, and is measured to be 3.3 to 3.1 when the temperature is changed from 15 to 35°C. Zeta potentials can be calculated from the measured streaming potential, conductivity, and the solution viscosity. Surface charge densities were calculated in this work using the zeta potentials obtained. We demonstrated that capillary surface conditions can significantly change the streaming potential, and with three different solutions, we showed that analyte-dependent adsorption can be monitored and mitigated to improve the peak symmetry and migration times reproducibility.     

Ionic strength-dependent pK shift in the helix-coil transition of grafted poly(L-glutamic acid) layers analyzed by electrokinetic and ellipsometric measurements

Surface-bound layers of poly(L-glutamic acid) prepared by a recently described "grafting-from" method were analyzed with respect to electrical charging and structural alterations upon variation of pH and concentration of the background electrolyte in aqueous solutions. The microslit electrokinetic setup (MES) was utilized for the combined determination of zeta potential and surface conductivity on the basis of streaming potential and streaming current measurements at polypeptide layers in contact with aqueous electrolyte solutions of varied composition. In situ ellipsometry was applied at similar samples immersed in identical aqueous solutions to investigate the influence of the solution pH on the structure of the polypeptide layers. Zeta potential and Dukhin number versus pH plots revealed the dissociation behavior of the surface-bound polypeptides indicating a significant shift of the pK of their acidic side chains correlating with the concentration of the background electrolyte potassium chloride and the related variation of the Debye screening length. Surface conductivity data pointed at a more expanded structure of the polypeptide layer in the fully dissociated state as an increased ion conductance in this part of the interface was determined. The occurrence of a strong increase of the thickness and a corresponding decrease of the refractive index for the coil state of the layer strongly supports the findings of the electrokinetic measurements. This fully reversible "switching" of the layer structure was attributed to helix-coil transitions within the grafted polypeptides induced by the dissociation of carboxylic acid functions of the polypeptide side chains. The shift of the "switching pH" of the surface-bound poly(L-glutamic acid) layers at varied concentrations of the background electrolyte was interpreted as a result of the pK shift of the carboxylic acid groups of the polypeptide side chains. The observed patterns prove that the electrostatic interactions causing this shift occur within but not between the grafted chains.     

The specific adsorption of sodium cations on less common metal oxides at high ionic strengths

Sodium cations adsorb specifically on metal oxides at high ionic strengths. This results in a shift in the isoelectric point (IEP) to higher pH values. When the critical concentration of electrolyte is exceeded there is no IEP at all and the electrokinetic potential is positive even at very high pH values. The critical NaI concentration is rather insensitive to the nature of the metal oxide (but silica behaves differently), and this suggests that the specific adsorption is chiefly due to ion-ion and ion-solvent interaction in solution. The experimental results obtained with indium and niobium oxides (critical concentrations of about 0.35 mol dm(-3)) confirmed this trend.     

ELECTROCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF ASPHALTENE PARTICLES IN AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

The electrical properties of colloidal asphaltene/water solution interface were determined by carrying out the potentiometric titration and electrokinetic measurements. Asphaltenes in aqueous solutions exhibit typical organic colloid properties i.e. surface charge and electrophoretic mobility. It was considered that the surface charge at the asphaltene particles is a result of protonation and dissociation reactions of surface functional groups. On the base of the surface charge density data vs. pH the surface reaction constants were calculated by numerical method. The agreement of these values with calculated ones, on the base of ζ potential data, is noticeable.

The characteristic feature of the investigated systems is the maximum, appearing on the curve ζ potential vs. electrolyte concentration. This behaviour is explained by _”hair layer ” structure of the asphaltene surface     

On the use of electrokinetic phenomena of the second kind for probing electrode kinetic properties of modified electron-conducting surfaces

The electrokinetic features of electron-conducting substrates, as measured in a conventional thin-layer electrokinetic cell, strongly depend on the extent of bipolar faradaic depolarisation of the interface formed with the adjacent electrolytic solution. Streaming potential versus applied pressure data obtained for metallic substrates must generally be interpreted on the basis of a modified Helmholtz-Smoluchowski equation corrected by an electronic conduction term-non linear with respect to the lateral potential and applied pressure gradient-that stems from the bipolar electrodic behavior of the metallic surface. In the current study, streaming potential measurements have been performed in KNO(3) solutions on porous plugs made of electron-conducting grains of pyrite (FeS(2)) covered by humic acids. For zero coverage, the extensive bipolar electronic conduction taking place in the plug-depolarized by concomitant and spatially distributed oxidation and reduction reactions of Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) species-leads to the complete extinction of the streaming potential over the entire range of applied pressure examined. For low to intermediate coverage, the local electron-transfer kinetics on the covered regions of the plug becomes more sluggish. The overall bipolar electronic conduction is then diminished which leads to an increase in the streaming potential with a non-linear dependence on the pressure. For significant coverage, a linear response is observed which basically reflects the interfacial double layer properties of the humics surface layer. A tractable, semi-analytical model is presented that reproduces the electrokinetic peculiarities of the complex and composite system FeS(2)/humics investigated. The study demonstrates that the streaming potential technique is a fast and valuable tool for establishing how well the electron transfer kinetics at a partially or completely depolarised bare electron-conducting substrate/electrolyte solution interface is either promoted (catalysis) or blocked (passivation) by the presence of a discontinuous surface layer.     

Ambient pressure effects on the electrokinetic potential of Zeonor-water interfaces

Using phase-sensitive streaming potential experiments in a vacuum chamber, we demonstrate that lowering the ambient pressure of the air surrounding a hydrophobic, Zeonor microfluidic substrate results in a decrease in the time scale required for equilibration of the electrokinetic potential. At ambient air pressures below 0.74 atm, the electrokinetic potential changes from ～-84 mV to ～-11 mV in 5 h, while the same decrease occurs in a period of over 200 h when the system is at 1 atm. Returning a sub-atmospheric system (where the electrokinetic potential had equilibrated to -11 mV) to atmospheric pressure did not result in any additional change in the electrokinetic potential. This can be described as a type of hysteresis of the electrokinetic potential with dissolved gas concentration. No time or pressure dependence was observed for the electrokinetic potential of hydrophilic (silica) substrates.     

Differences in absorbance levels as found in capillary zone electrophoresis under stacking conditions

During some capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) experiments, the baseline UV absorbance signal at 200 nm “jumped” from one stable level prior to the water plug (marking the flow of neutrals) to another stable level after the water plug. The phenomenon was further examined with distilled water as the sample and with different buffers, applied potentials, and salt concentrations in the buffer. It seems that there is an “isotachophoretic effect” on top of the CZE separations when running under stacking conditions. The effect results in a higher pH value of the buffer after the water plug compared to the pH prior to the plug. The nature of the buffer, the salt concentration in the buffer, and the applied potential all affect this phenomenon.     

Electrokinetic studies on a thorium oxide membrane : I. Electroosmosis and electrophoresis

Electroosmotic transport of dimethyl formamide through a thorium oxide plug membrahe has been studied and the data have been analysed from the standpoint of thermodynamics of irreversible processes. Electroosmotic flow and eleetroosmotic pressure have been found to be nonlinearly dependent on the applied potential difference. Various phenomenological coefficients have been evaluated from the nonlinear transport equation. Onsager's reciprocity relation has been verified by measurements of streaming potentials. The electrophoretic velocity of thorium oxide particles dispersed in dimethyl formamide has also been found to be nonlinear. Zeta potentials have been evaluated from electroosmotic and electrophoretic data. The results have been explained on the basis of the change in the structure of the electrical double layer. The degree of coupling and the efficiency of electrokinetic energy conversion have been calculated for both electroosmosis and streaming potential.     

平流式流动电位测试系统的研制

分离膜表面的荷电化显著地影响着膜的分离性能和耐污染能力。因此,定量化表征膜表面电性能具有重要的理论价值和实际意义。作者在前期透过式膜流动电位测试系统研发工作的基础上成功地研制了平流式流动电位测试系统,并且首次将恒电流法测膜体电导引入膜表面ζ(Zeta)电位的确定过程中。以自制不同共混比的合金荷电膜为测试对象,利用该测试系统和经典的Helmholtz-Smoluchowski(H-S)方程及其变体得到了不同pH下的膜表面Zeta电位,从而揭示了膜表面电导、膜体电导对膜表面Zeta电位的贡献,并展示了该流动电位测试系统的有效性。     

Experimental study of electrostatically stabilized colloidal particles: colloidal stability and charge reversal

We consider the interaction of colloidal spheres in the presence of mono-, di-, and trivalent ions. The colloids are stabilized by electrostatic repulsion due to surface charges. The repulsive part of the interaction potential Ψ(d) is deduced from precise measurements of the rate of slow coagulation. These "microsurface potential measurements" allow us to determine a weak repulsion in which Ψ(d) is of the order of a few k(B)T. These data are compared to ζ potential measured under similar conditions. At higher concentrations both di- and trivalent counterions accumulate at the very proximity of the particle surface leading to charge reversal. The salt concentration c(cr) at which charge reversal occurs is found to be always above the critical coagulation concentration c(ccc). The analysis of Ψ(d) and of the ζ potential demonstrates, however, that adsorption of multivalent counterions starts far below c(cr). Hence, colloid stability in the presence of di- and trivalent ions cannot be described in terms of a DLVO ansatz assuming a surface charge that is constant with regard to the ionic strength.