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Water transport behaviors in a CTT-type nanotube system

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Abstract

The shape of a nanochannel significantly affects mass transport. This study provides a new nanochannel model made from a concentric-twin tube (CTT), which can be made by inserting a carbon nanotube (CNT) into another identical CNT. The stable configuration of such a CTT has three subchannels containing different cross-sectional shapes. Molecular dynamic approach is applied to evaluate the transport performances of the confined water in the CTT. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the CTT made from (17,17) CNTs is the thinnest nanochannel for water transport. The three subchannels of a CTT have different linear speeds of water and different volume flow rates depending on the CTT’s cross-sectional shapes. Based on these characteristics, a fluid nanodevice requiring special transform performances, e.g., sieving the molecules with different sizes in a solution, can be designed from the new nanochannels.

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Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation, of China (Grant No. 12272239) and the Start-up fund for research from Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Kun Cai

  2. College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China

    Xin Zhou & Jiao Shi

  3. Department of Materials Science, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Shenzhen, 518172, China

    Qing-Hua Qin

Authors
  1. Kun Cai
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  2. Xin Zhou
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  3. Jiao Shi
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  4. Qing-Hua Qin
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Correspondence to Kun Cai or Qing-Hua Qin.

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Cai, K., Zhou, X., Shi, J. et al. Water transport behaviors in a CTT-type nanotube system. Microfluid Nanofluid 26, 91 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-022-02598-0

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