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Molecular transport under extreme confinement

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Abstract

Mass transport through the nanoporous medium is ubiquitous in nature and industry. Unlike the macroscale transport phenomena which have been well understood by the theory of continuum mechanics, the relevant physics and mechanics on the nanoscale transport still remain mysterious. Recent developments in fabrication of slit-like nanocapillaries with precise dimensions and atomically smooth surfaces have promoted the fundamental research on the molecular transport under extreme confinement. In this review, we summarized the contemporary progress in the study of confined molecular transport of water, ions and gases, based on both experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. The liquid exhibits a pronounced layered structure that extends over several intermolecular distances from the solid surface, which has a substantial influence on static properties and transport behaviors under confinement. Latest studies have also shown that those molecular details could provide some new understanding on the century-old classical theory in this field.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFA0708700), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11922213), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. WK2480000005), and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (Grant No. 2020449). The authors express their thanks to Quan Wang for helping with the artwork in Figure 2(g).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, CAS Center for Excellence in Complex System Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027, China

    FengChao Wang, JianHao Qian, JingCun Fan, JinChuan Li, HengYu Xu & HengAn Wu

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  1. FengChao Wang
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  2. JianHao Qian
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  3. JingCun Fan
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Correspondence to HengAn Wu.

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Wang, F., Qian, J., Fan, J. et al. Molecular transport under extreme confinement. Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 65, 264601 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-021-1853-3

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