• 文献标题:   Voltage gated inter-cation selective ion channels from graphene nanopores
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   CANTLEY L, SWETT JL, LLOYD D, CULLEN DA, ZHOU K, BEDWORTH PV, HEISE S, RONDINONE AJ, XU ZP, SINTON S, BUNCH JS
  • 作者关键词:  
  • 出版物名称:   NANOSCALE
  • ISSN:   2040-3364 EI 2040-3372
  • 通讯作者地址:   Boston Univ
  • 被引频次:   8
  • DOI:   10.1039/c8nr10360g
  • 出版年:   2019

▎ 摘  要

With the ability to selectively control ionic flux, biological protein ion channels perform a fundamental role in many physiological processes. For practical applications that require the functionality of a biological ion channel, graphene provides a promising solid-state alternative, due to its atomic thinness and mechanical strength. Here, we demonstrate that nanopores introduced into graphene membranes, as large as 50 nm in diameter, exhibit inter-cation selectivity with a approximate to 20x preference for K+ over divalent cations and can be modulated by an applied gate voltage. Liquid atomic force microscopy of the graphene devices reveals surface nanobubbles near the pore to be responsible for the observed selective behavior. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that translocation of ions across the pore likely occurs via a thin water layer at the edge of the pore and the nanobubble. Our results demonstrate a significant improvement in the inter-cation selectivity displayed by a solid-state nanopore device and by utilizing the pores in a de-wetted state, offers an approach to fabricate selective graphene membranes that does not rely on the fabrication of sub-nm pores.