Low-voltage electrostatic modulation of ion diffusion through layered graphene-based nanoporous membranes

Abstract

Ion transport in nanoconfinement differs from that in bulk and has been extensively researched across scientific and engineering disciplines1–4. For many energy and water applications of nanoporous materials, concentration-driven ion diffusion is simultaneously subjected to a local electric field arising from surface charge or an externally applied potential. Due to the uniquely crowded intermolecular forces under severe nanoconfinement (<2 nm), the transport behaviours of ions can be influenced by the interfacial electrical double layer (EDL) induced by a surface potential, with complex implications, engendering unusual ion dynamics5–7. However, it remains an experimental challenge to inves..