Carbon Nanotube Nanofluidics

Speaker:

Olgica Bakajin, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Date & Time:

November 5, 2008 - 3:30pm

Location:

Eng. Room B120

Carbon Nanotube Nanofluidics Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Olgica Bakajin, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 3:30 PM, Eng. Room B120 Carbon nanotubes are an excellent platform for the fundamental studies of transport through channels commensurate with molecular size. Water transport through carbon nanotubes is also believed to be similar to transport in biological channels such as aquaporins. I will discuss the transport of gas, water and ions through microfabricated membranes with sub-2 nanometer aligned carbon nanotubes as ideal atomically-smooth pores. The measured gas flow through carbon nanotubes exceeded predictions of the Knudsen diffusion model by more than an order of magnitude [1]. The measured water flow exceeded values calculated from continuum hydrodynamics models by more than three orders of magnitude and is comparable to flow rates extrapolated from molecular dynamics simulations and measured for aquaporins. More recent reverse osmosis experiments reveal ion rejection by our membranes. Based on our experimental findings, I will discuss our current understanding of the fundamentals of water and gas transport and of ion rejection. I will also explore the potential application space that exploits these unique nanofluidic phenomena. The extremely high permeabilities of these membranes, combined with their small pore size will enable energy efficient filtration and eventually decrease the cost of water desalination and of separations of industrial gases and biomolecules. Prepared by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, with funding from LLNL’s LDRD program, DARPA, & NSF. [1] Holt, J., H.G. Park, Y. Wang, M. Stadermann, A.B. Artyukhin, C.P. Grigoropoulos, A. Noy and O. Bakajin, Fast Mass Transport Through Sub-2-Nanometer Carbon Nanotubes, Science, 312, 1034 (2006) Olgica Bakajin is a staff physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA where she is currently leading a research group. She received her bachelor’s degree in physics with satisfied requirements for a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1996. In 2000 she received a PhD degree in Physics from Princeton University. She then joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a Lawrence Fellow. After spending the first 9 months of her fellowship visiting the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Bakajin came to Livermore. She has been conducting independent research there, until 2003 as a Fellow, and since then as a member of the permanent scientific staff. Dr. 30 peer reviewed publications, 3 issued US Patents and several patents pending. Her work has been cited over 1700 times. Host: Shaurya Prakash

Carbon Nanotube Nanofluidics
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Olgica Bakajin, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
3:30 PM, Eng. Room B120

Carbon nanotubes are an excellent platform for the fundamental studies of transport through channels commensurate with molecular size. Water transport through carbon nanotubes is also believed to be similar to transport in biological channels such as aquaporins. I will discuss the transport of gas, water and ions through microfabricated membranes with sub-2 nanometer aligned carbon nanotubes as ideal atomically-smooth pores. The measured gas flow through carbon nanotubes exceeded predictions of the Knudsen diffusion model by more than an order of magnitude [1]. The measured water flow exceeded values calculated from continuum hydrodynamics models by more than three orders of magnitude and is comparable to flow rates extrapolated from molecular dynamics simulations and measured for aquaporins. More recent reverse osmosis experiments reveal ion rejection by our membranes. Based on our experimental findings, I will discuss our current understanding of the fundamentals of water and gas transport and of ion rejection. I will also explore the potential application space that exploits these unique nanofluidic phenomena. The extremely high permeabilities of these membranes, combined with their small pore size will enable energy efficient filtration and eventually decrease the cost of water desalination and of separations of industrial gases and biomolecules.
Prepared by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, with funding from LLNL’s LDRD program, DARPA, & NSF.
[1] Holt, J., H.G. Park, Y. Wang, M. Stadermann, A.B. Artyukhin, C.P. Grigoropoulos, A. Noy and O. Bakajin, Fast Mass Transport Through Sub-2-Nanometer Carbon Nanotubes, Science, 312, 1034 (2006)

Olgica Bakajin is a staff physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA where she is currently leading a research group. She received her bachelor’s degree in physics with satisfied requirements for a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1996. In 2000 she received a PhD degree in Physics from Princeton University. She then joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a Lawrence Fellow. After spending the first 9 months of her fellowship visiting the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Bakajin came to Livermore. She has been conducting independent research there, until 2003 as a Fellow, and since then as a member of the permanent scientific staff. Dr. 30 peer reviewed publications, 3 issued US Patents and several patents pending. Her work has been cited over 1700 times.

Host: Shaurya Prakash

Giving to IAMDN

Carbon Nanotube Nanofluidics