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Complete steric exclusion of ions and proton transport through confined monolayer water

Gopinadhan, K ; Sharif University of Technology | 2019

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: 10.1126/science.aau6771
  3. Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science , 2019
  4. Abstract:
  5. It has long been an aspirational goal to create artificial structures that allow fast permeation of water but reject even the smallest hydrated ions, replicating the feat achieved by nature in protein channels (e.g., aquaporins). Despite recent progress in creating nanoscale pores and capillaries, these structures still remain distinctly larger than protein channels. We report capillaries made by effectively extracting one atomic plane from bulk crystals, which leaves a two-dimensional slit of a few angstroms in height. Water moves through these capillaries with little resistance, whereas no permeation could be detected even for such small ions as Na + and Cl − . Only protons (H + ) can diffuse through monolayer water inside the capillaries. These observations improve our understanding of molecular transport at the atomic scale. © 2017 The Authors
  6. Keywords:
  7. Chloride ; Proton ; Silicon nitride ; Sodium ion ; Water ; Biochemistry ; Cation ; Crystal chemistry ; Electron ; Physiology ; Protein ; Capillary ; Chemical structure ; Concentration (parameter) ; Crystal ; Diffusion ; Electric conductance ; Electric resistance ; Evaporation ; Gravimetry ; Ion transport ; Limit of detection ; Microtechnology ; Molecular dynamics ; Priority journal ; Proton transport ; Raman spectrometry ; Stereospecificity ; Water flow
  8. Source: Science ; Volume 363, Issue 6423 , 2019 , Pages 145-148 ; 00368075 (ISSN)
  9. URL: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6423/145