Single-bubble dynamics in nanopores: Transition between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation

When applying a voltage bias across a thin nanopore, localized Joule heating can lead to single-bubble nucleation, offering a unique platform for studying nanoscale bubble behavior, which is still poorly understood. Accordingly, we investigate bubble nucleation and collapse inside solid-state nanopores filled with electrolyte solutions and find that there exists a clear correlation between homo/heterogeneous bubble nucleation and the pore diameter. As the pore diameter is increased from 280 to 525 nm, the nucleation regime transitions from predominantly periodic homogeneous nucleation to a nonperiodic mixture of homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation. A transition barrier between the homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation regimes is defined by considering the relative free-energy costs of cluster formation. A thermodynamic model considering the transition barrier and contact-line pinning on curved surfaces is constructed, which determines the possibility of heterogeneous nucleation. It is shown that the experimental bubble generation behavior is closely captured by our thermodynamic analysis, providing important information for controlling the periodic homogeneous nucleation of bubbles in nanopores

Electrically tunable solid-state silicon nanopore ion filter

We show that a nanopore in a silicon membrane connected to a voltage source can be used as an electrically tunable ion filter. By applying a voltage between the heavily doped semiconductor and the electrolyte, it is possible to invert the ion population inside the nanopore and vary the conductance for both cations and anions in order to achieve selective conduction of ions even in the presence of significant surface charges in the membrane. Our model based on the solution of the Poisson equation and linear transport theory indicates that in narrow nanopores substantial gain can be achieved by controlling electrically the width of the charge double layer

Stabilization of Ion Concentration Polarization Using a Heterogeneous Nanoporous Junction

We demonstrate a recycled ion-flux through heterogeneous nanoporous junctions, which induce stable ion concentration polarization with an electric field. The nanoporous junctions are based on integration of ionic hydrogels whose surfaces are negatively or positively charged for cationic or anionic selectivity, respectively. Such heterogeneous junctions can be matched up in a way to achieve continuous ion-flux operation for stable concentration gradient or ionic conductance. Furthermore, the combined junctions can be used to accumulate ions on a specific region of the device.Korea Research Foundation (Grant MOEHRD: KRF-2007-331-D00040)Korean Science and Engineering Foundation (Grant MOST: R01-2007-000-20675-0)Korea Research Foundation (Grant MOEHRD: KRF-J03000)National Research Foundation of Korea (Grant NRF-2009- 352-D00034)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (EB005743)National Science Foundation (U.S.). (CBET-0347348

Integrated sensitive on-chip ion field effect transistors based on wrinkled InGaAs nanomembranes

Self-organized wrinkling of pre-strained nanomembranes into nanochannels is used to fabricate a fully integrated nanofluidic device for the development of ion field effect transistors (IFETs). Constrained by the structure and shape of the membrane, the deterministic wrinkling process leads to a versatile variation of channel types such as straight two-way channels, three-way branched channels, or even four-way intersection channels. The fabrication of straight channels is well controllable and offers the opportunity to integrate multiple IFET devices into a single chip. Thus, several IFETs are fabricated on a single chip using a III-V semiconductor substrate to control the ion separation and to measure the ion current of a diluted potassium chloride electrolyte solution

Experimental Correlation of Combined Heat and Mass Transfer for NH 3 -H 2 0 falling film absorption

vection. The main conclusion from this study is that the negative concentration gradient of the surface tension is a trigger for inducement of Marangoni convection before the additive solubility, while the imbalance of the surface tension and the interfacial tension is a trigger after the solubility limit. Acknowledgment The authors thank Mr. K. Iizuka, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, for his experimental assistance. The authors acknowledge that this work has been partially funded by the Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST). References Beutler, A., Greiter, I., Wagner, A., Hohhmann, L., Schreier, S., and Alefeld, G., 1996, "Surfactants and Fluid Properties," Int. J. Refrigeration, Vol. 19, No. 5, pp. 342-346. Chavepeyer, G" Salajan, M., Platten, J. K., and Smet, P., 1995, "InterfacialTension and Surface Adsorption in j-Heptanol/Water Systems," Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 174, Daiguji, H,, Hihara, E., and Saito, T., 1997, "Mechanism of Absorption Enhancement by Surfactant," Int. J. Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 40, No. 8, pp. 1743-1752. Fujita, T., 1993, "Falling Liquid Films in Absorption Machines," Int. J. Refrigeration, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 282-294. Hihara, E" and Saito, T., 1993 Journal of Heat Transfer TL = temperature of the fluid far away from the plate t' = time t R = reference time u = velocity of the fluid UD = reference velocity at' = frequency X,, = distance of the transition point from the leading edge |3 = coefficient of volume expansion p = density e = amplitude (constant) 9 = nondimensional temperature u = nondimensional velocity i = y-i Introduction Transient laminar-free convection flow past an infinite vertical plate under different plate conditions was studied by many researchers. The first closed-form solutions for Prandtl number Pr = 1.0 in case of a step change in wall temperature with time was derived by Illingworth (1950) and for Pr # 1.0, he derived the solution in integral form. Siegel (1958) studied the unsteady freeconvection flow past a semi-infinite vertical plate under stepchange in wall temperature or surface heat flux by employing the momentum integral method. Experimental evidence for such a situation was presented by Goldstein and Eckert (1960). For a semi-infinite vertical plate, unsteady free-convection flow was studied analytically b

Noise Properties of Rectifying Nanopores

Ion currents through three types of rectifying nanoporous structures are studied and compared for the first time: conically shaped polymer nanopores, glass nanopipettes, and silicon nitride nanopores. Time signals of ion currents are analyzed by power spectrum. We focus on the low-frequency range where the power spectrum magnitude scales with frequency, f, as 1/f. Glass nanopipettes and polymer nanopores exhibit non-equilibrium 1/f noise, thus the normalized power spectrum depends on the voltage polarity and magnitude. In contrast, 1/f noise in rectifying silicon nitride nanopores is of equilibrium character. Various mechanisms underlying the voltage-dependent 1/f noise are explored and discussed, including intrinsic pore wall dynamics, and formation of vortices and non-linear flow patterns in the pore. Experimental data are supported by modeling of ion currents based on the coupled Poisson-Nernst-Planck and Navier Stokes equations. We conclude that the voltage-dependent 1/f noise observed in polymer and glass asymmetric nanopores might result from high and asymmetric electric fields inducing secondary effects in the pore such as enhanced water dissociation

Analysis and control of vapor bubble growth inside solid-state nanopores

The increasing demands of computational power have accelerated the development of 3D circuits in the semiconductor industry. To resolve the accompanying thermal issues, two-phase microchannel heat exchangers using have emerged as one of the promising solutions for cooling purposes. However, the direct boiling in microchannels and rapid bubble growth give rise to highly unstable heat flux on the channel walls. In this regard, it is hence desired to control the supply of vapor bubbles for the elimination of the instability. In this research, we investigate a controllable bubble generation technique, which is capable of periodically producing bubble seeds at the sub-micron scale. These nanobubbles were generated in a solid-state nanopore filled with a highly concentrated electrolyte solution. As an external electric field was applied, the localized Joule heating inside the nanopore initiated the homogeneous bubble nucleation. The bubble dynamics was analyzed by measuring the ionic current variation through the nanopore during the bubble nucleation and growth. Meanwhile, we theoretically examined the bubble growth and collapse inside the nanopore by a moving boundary model. In both approaches, we demonstrated that by altering the pore size, the available sensible heat for the bubble growth can be manipulated, thereby offering the controllability of the bubble size. This unique characteristic renders nanopores suitable as a nanobubble emitter for microchannel heat exchangers, paving the way for the next generation microelectronic cooling applications