Nanoscale pumping of water by AC electric fields.

Rinne, Klaus F; Gekle, Stephan; Bonthuis, Douwe Jan; Netz, Roland R · Nano Lett · 2012

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Using molecular dynamics simulations we demonstrate pumping of water through a carbon nanotube by time-dependent electric fields. The fields are generated by electrodes with oscillating charges in a broad gigahertz frequency range that are attached laterally to the tube. The key ingredient is a phase shift between the electrodes to break the spatiotemporal symmetry. A microscopic theory based on a polarization-dragging mechanism accounts quantitatively for our numerical findings.