Unraveling the Molecular Interface and Boundary Problems in an Electrical Double Layer and Electroosmotic Flow

Abstract

In a nanofluidic system, the electroosmotic flow (EOF) is a complex fluid transport mechanism, where the formation of an electrical double layer (EDL) occurs ubiquitously at the dissimilar atomic interface. Several studies have suggested various interface boundaries to calculate the EDL thickness. However, the physical origin of the interface boundary and its effects on the flow properties is not yet clearly understood. Combining the theoretical framework and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we show the effects of different interfacial boundaries on the EDL thickness and EOF characteristics. Implemented interface boundaries exhibit the EDL thickness–boundary relation, i.e., the EDL thickness from MD simulations shows the tendency of converging toward the continuum approximation. Furthermore, inserting these values of EDL thicknesses into the continuum equation shows the convergence of flow transition of the molecular state to a neutral from an electrical violation phase, which takes a parabolic to plug-like shape in the velocity profile. Different interface boundaries also affect the hydrodynamic properties (viscosity and electroviscosity) of EOF, which varies from the bulk to interface region, as well as the fluid flow. Therefore, we can infer that, at the molecular level, the dissimilar atomic boundary and hydrodynamic properties dominate the electrokinetic flow. Our simulation results and theoretical model provide fundamental insightful information and guidelines for the EOF study based on the atomic interface and dynamic structure-based hydrodynamic property.