title: Biomimetic Nanofluidic Diode Composed of Dual Amphoteric Channels Maintains Rectification Direction over a Wide pH Range.
abstract: pH-gated ion channels in cell membranes play important roles in the cell's physiological activities. Many artificial nanochannels have been fabricated to mimic the natural phenomenon of pH-gated ion transport. However, these nanochannels show pH sensitivity only within certain pH ranges. Wide-range pH sensitivity has not yet been achieved. Herein, for the first time, we provide a versatile strategy to increase the pH-sensitive range by using dual amphoteric nanochannels. In particular, amphoteric polymeric nanochannels with carboxyl groups derived from a block copolymer (BCP) precursor and nanochannels with hydroxyl groups made from anodic alumina oxide (AAO) were used. Due to a synergistic effect, the hybrid nanochannels exhibit nanofluidic diode properties with single rectification direction over a wide pH range. The novel strategy presented here is a scalable, low-cost, and robust alternative for the construction of large-area membranes for nanofluidic applications, such as the separation of biomolecules.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Beijing Energy, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Beijing Energy, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Beijing Energy, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Beijing Energy, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P.R. China. lcgao@buaa.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Longcheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P.R. China. wen@mail.ipc.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Beijing Energy, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P.R. China. fanxia@buaa.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: School of Astronautics, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xinru
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Beijing Energy, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P.R. China.|Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
keywords: amphoteric nanochannels; block copolymers; ion transport; nanofluidic diodes; ph-gating