title: Fabrication of nanofluidic diodes with polymer nanopores modified by atomic layer deposition.
abstract: Surface charge distribution is a crucial factor for the ionic transport properties inside nanopores. Modifying the surface charge inside a single conical nanopore can greatly affect the rectification behavior of the ionic current through the nanopore and afford nanofluidic diodes. In this work, we describe a new method to fabricate nanofluidic diodes by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on conical track-etched nanopores. Thorough investigation of the ionic transport behavior through ALD-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanopores is carried out. Our results demonstrate that ALD is a simple and effective method to modify the inner surface of the polymer nanopores for fabricating nanofluidic devices. In addition, we also investigate the stability of the ALD-modified nanopores, and the results suggest that the long-time stability could be compromised by high voltage applied along the nanopore.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, School of Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, School of Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, School of Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ceming
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Advanced Materials, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School , Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xinwei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jianming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xue