Hydrodynamic flow in the vicinity of a nanopore in response to an applied voltage*

Continuum simulation and analytical modeling is employed to study ion transport and fluid flow through a nanopore in a solid-state membrane under an applied voltage. The ion distribution near the surface of the membrane arises due to the combined effect of the intrinsic surface charge as well as concentration polarization due to the applied field. It gives rise to an electric pressure that drives hydrodynamic flow in the vicinity of the pore. There is a net hydrodynamic flow through the nanopore due to the asymmetry in the Debye layer induced by the membrane surface charge. The qualitative behavior is similar to that observed in a previous study using molecular dynamic simulations. The flow strength is a strongly nonlinear function of the applied field. Combination of electrophoretic and hydrodynamic effects can lead to ion selectivity in terms of valences and this could have some practical applications in separations.