Molecular dynamics: Tunable Water Channels with Carbon Nanoscrolls (Small 6/2010)

The frontispiece shows a cross-section image of a sheet of graphene rolled up into a “carbon nanoscroll”. Molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical analyses show that the flow rate of water through the core of the nanoscrolls can be adjusted over a broad range through the effective surface energy, which in turn can be tuned by an applied DC or AC electric field. The results suggest that such carbon naonscrolls hold great promise in applications such as tunable water and ion channels, nanofluidic devices, and nanofilters, as well as tunable gene- and drug-delivery systems. For more information, please read the Full Paper “Tunable Water Channels with Carbon Nanoscrolls” by H. Gao et al., beginning on page 739.