title: Intermittent permeation of cylindrical nanopores by water.
abstract: Molecular-dynamics simulations of water molecules in nanometer sized cylindrical channels connecting two reservoirs show that the permeation of water is very sensitive to the channel radius and to electric polarization of the embedding material. At threshold, the permeation is intermittent on a nanosecond time scale, and strongly enhanced by the presence of an ion inside the channel, providing a possible mechanism for gating. Confined water remains surprisingly fluid and bulklike. Its behavior differs strikingly from that of a reference Lennard-Jones fluid, which tends to contract into a highly layered structure inside the channel.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rosalind
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Melchionna
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hansen