Current Rectification in Temperature‐Responsive Single Nanopores |
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| Authors: | Fan Xia Dr Xu Hou Liuxuan Cao Lin Wang Jianming Xue Prof Guangzhao Zhang Prof Yanlin Song Prof Daoben Zhu Prof Yugang Wang Prof Lei Jiang Prof |
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| Institution: | 1. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (P.R.China), Fax: (+86)?010‐82627566;2. National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190 (P.R.China);3. State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Center for Applied Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 (P.R.China), Fax: (+86)?010‐62751875;4. Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P.R.China) |
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| Abstract: | Herein we demonstrate a fully abiotic smart single‐nanopore device that rectifies ionic current in response to the temperature. The temperature‐responsive nanopore ionic rectifier can be switched between a rectifying state below 34 °C and a non‐rectifying state above 38 °C actuated by the phase transition of the poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) PNIPAM] brushes. On the rectifying state, the rectifying efficiency can be enhanced by the dehydration of the attached PNIPAM brushes below the LCST. When the PNIPAM brushes have sufficiently collapsed, the nanopore switches to the non‐rectifying state. The concept of the temperature‐responsive current rectification in chemically‐modified nanopores paves a new way for controlling the preferential direction of the ion transport in nanofluidics by modulating the temperature, which has the potential to build novel nanomachines with smart fluidic communication functions for future lab‐on‐chip devices. |
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| Keywords: | current rectification molecular devices nanostructures phase transitions temperature responsive |
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