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Continuously Tunable Ion Rectification and Conductance in Submicrochannels Stemming from Thermoresponsive Polymer Self‐Assembly
Author(s) -
Wu Yafeng,
Yang Guang,
Lin Mingchang,
Kong Xiangyu,
Mi Li,
Liu Songqin,
Chen Guosong,
Tian Ye,
Jiang Lei
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201906360
Subject(s) - rectification , conductance , polymer , materials science , nanotechnology , ion , wetting , layer (electronics) , conical surface , optoelectronics , chemical engineering , chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , physics , condensed matter physics , quantum mechanics , engineering , power (physics)
A biomimetic conical submicrochannel (tip side ca. 400 nm) with functions of continuously tunable ion rectification and conductance based on thermoresponsive polymer layer‐by‐layer (LbL) self‐assembly is presented. These self‐assembled polymers with different layers exhibited a capability to regulate the effective channel diameter, and different ion rectifications/conductance were achieved. By controlling temperature, the conformation and wettability of the assembled polymers were reversibly transformed, thus the ion rectification/conductance could be further adjusted subtly. Owing to the synergistic effect, the ion conductance could be tuned over a wide range spanning three orders of magnitude. Moreover, the proposed system can be applied for on‐demand on‐off molecule delivery, which was important for disease therapy. This study opens a new door for regulating channel size according to actual demand and sensing big targets with different size with one channel.