An Experimental Approach to Systematically Probe Charge Inversion in Nanofluidic Channels

Abstract

Charge inversion of the surfaces of nanofluidic channels occurs in systems with high-surface charge and/or highly charged ions and is of particular interest because of applications in biological and energy conversion systems. However, the details of such charge inversion have not been clearly elucidated. Specifically, although we can experimentally and theoretically show charge inversion, understanding at what conditions charge inversion occurs, as well how much the charge-inverting ions change the surface, are not known. Here, we show a novel experimental approach for uniquely finding both the ζ-potential and adsorption time of charge inverting ions in aqueous nanofluidic systems.