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Micromachines
Special Issues
Energy Generation from Micro/Nanofluidics
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Energy Generation from Micro/Nanofluidics

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "C：Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2020) | Viewed by 9724

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Li-Hsien Yeh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106335, Taiwan
Interests: microfluidics and nanofluidics; ion transport; ionic circuit; blue energy; metal–organic frameworks and covalent–organic frameworks
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Power generation from ion and water transports is a promising method of choice among the alternative energy options for generating clean and sustainable energy, which might provide a crucial contribution in the hot fields of flexible electronics and implantable medical devices. Examples of this kind of clean energy include salinity gradient power, pressure-driven electrokinetic power, thermoelectric power, photoelectric power, microbial fuel cells, and power generation from other driving forces with fluidic devices. To capture this kind of clean energy in more efficient way, several micro/nanofluidic devices with designed structures, functions, materials, and chemical characteristics have been explored. Toward developing the next-generation high-performance fluidic power generators, this Special Issue in Micromachines seeks to highlight recent progress in micro/nanofluidics and ion-selective membranes in relation to energy generation and conversion. We invite you to submit original research papers, short communications, and reviews related to this emerging topic to this Special Issue. In addition to novel applications, fundamentals, and its related underlying mechanism, discussion on energy generation with micro/nanofluidics is all welcomed.

Dr. Li-Hsien Yeh
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Osmotic power
  • Electrokinetic energy
  • Thermoelectric energy
  • Photoelectric energy
  • Microbial fuel cell
  • Clean energy
  • Streaming potential/current
  • Membrane potential
  • Energy conversion
  • Energy harvesting

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2595 KiB  
Article
Electroosmotic Flow of Non-Newtonian Fluid in Porous Polymer Membrane at High Zeta Potentials
by Shuyan Deng, Yukun Zeng, Mingying Li and Cuixiang Liang
Micromachines 2020, 11(12), 1046; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11121046 - 27 Nov 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1792
Abstract
To help in the efficient design of fluid flow in electroosmotic pumps, electroosmotic flow of non-Newtonian fluid through porous polymer membrane at high zeta potentials is studied by mainly evaluating the total flow rate at different physical parameters. Non-Newtonian fluid is represented by [...] Read more.
To help in the efficient design of fluid flow in electroosmotic pumps, electroosmotic flow of non-Newtonian fluid through porous polymer membrane at high zeta potentials is studied by mainly evaluating the total flow rate at different physical parameters. Non-Newtonian fluid is represented by the power-law model and the porous polymer membrane is considered as arrays of straight cylindrical pores. The electroosmotic flow of non-Newtonian fluid through a single pore is studied by solving the complete Poisson–Boltzmann equation and the modified Cauchy momentum equation. Then assuming the pore size distribution on porous polymer membrane obeys Gaussian distribution, the performance of electroosmotic pump operating non-Newtonian fluid is evaluated by computing the total flow rate of electroosmotic flow through porous polymer membrane as a function of flow behavior index, geometric parameters of porous membrane, electrolyte concentration, applied voltage, and zeta potential. It is found that enhancing zeta potential and bulk concentration rather than the applied voltage can also significantly improve the total flow rate in porous polymer membrane, especially in the case of shear thinning fluid. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Generation from Micro/Nanofluidics)
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15 pages, 4343 KiB  
Article
Charge Properties and Electric Field Energy Density of Functional Group-Modified Nanoparticle Interacting with a Flat Substrate
by Luyu Deng, Liuyong Shi, Teng Zhou, Xianman Zhang and Sang W. Joo
Micromachines 2020, 11(12), 1038; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11121038 - 26 Nov 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1690
Abstract
Functionalized nanofluidics devices have recently emerged as a powerful platform for applications of energy conversion. Inspired by biological cells, we theoretically studied the effect of the interaction between the nanoparticle and the plate which formed the brush layer modified by functional zwitterionic polyelectrolyte [...] Read more.
Functionalized nanofluidics devices have recently emerged as a powerful platform for applications of energy conversion. Inspired by biological cells, we theoretically studied the effect of the interaction between the nanoparticle and the plate which formed the brush layer modified by functional zwitterionic polyelectrolyte (PE) on the bulk charge density of the nanoparticle brush layer, and the charge/discharge effect when the distance between the particle and the plate was changed. In this paper, The Poisson–Nernst–Planck equation system is used to build the theoretical model to study the interaction between the nanoparticle and the plate modified by the PE brush layer, considering brush layer charge regulation in the presence of multiple ionic species. The results show that the bulk charge density of the brush layer decreases with the decrease of the distance between the nanoparticle and the flat substrate when the interaction occurs between the nanoparticle and the plate. When the distance between the particle and the plate is about 2 nm, the charge density of the brush layer at the bottom of the particle is about 69% of that at the top, and the electric field energy density reaches the maximum value when the concentration of the background salt solution is 10 mm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Generation from Micro/Nanofluidics)
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11 pages, 15992 KiB  
Article
Improved Rectification and Osmotic Power in Polyelectrolyte-Filled Mesopores
by Ding-Cheng Zheng and Li-Hsien Yeh
Micromachines 2020, 11(10), 949; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11100949 - 21 Oct 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2725
Abstract
Ample studies have shown the use of nanofluidics in the ionic diode and osmotic power generation, but similar ionic devices performed with large-sized mesopores are still poorly understood. In this study, we model and realize the mesoscale ionic diode and osmotic power generator, [...] Read more.
Ample studies have shown the use of nanofluidics in the ionic diode and osmotic power generation, but similar ionic devices performed with large-sized mesopores are still poorly understood. In this study, we model and realize the mesoscale ionic diode and osmotic power generator, composed of an asymmetric cone-shaped mesopore with its narrow opening filled with a polyelectrolyte (PE) layer with high space charges. We show that, only when the space charge density of a PE layer is sufficiently large (>1×106 C/m3), the considered mesopore system is able to create an asymmetric ionic distributions in the pore and then rectify ionic current. As a result, the output osmotic power performance can be improved when the filled PE carries sufficiently high space charges. For example, the considered PE-filled mesopore system can show an amplification of the osmotic power of up to 35.1-fold, compared to the bare solid-state mesopore. The findings provide necessary information for the development of large-sized ionic diode and osmotic power harvesting device. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Generation from Micro/Nanofluidics)
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28 pages, 5031 KiB  
Article
A Simulation Analysis of Nanofluidic Ion Current Rectification Using a Metal-Dielectric Janus Nanopore Driven by Induced-Charge Electrokinetic Phenomena
by Weiyu Liu, Yongjun Sun, Hui Yan, Yukun Ren, Chunlei Song and Qisheng Wu
Micromachines 2020, 11(6), 542; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11060542 - 27 May 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3059
Abstract
We propose herein a unique mechanism of generating tunable surface charges in a metal-dielectric Janus nanopore for the development of nanofluidic ion diode, wherein an uncharged metallic nanochannel is in serial connection with a dielectric nanopore of fixed surface charge. In response to [...] Read more.
We propose herein a unique mechanism of generating tunable surface charges in a metal-dielectric Janus nanopore for the development of nanofluidic ion diode, wherein an uncharged metallic nanochannel is in serial connection with a dielectric nanopore of fixed surface charge. In response to an external electric field supplied by two probes located on both sides of the asymmetric Janus nanopore, the metallic portion of the nanochannel is electrochemically polarized, so that a critical junction is formed between regions with an enriched concentration of positive and negative ions in the bulk electrolyte adjacent to the conducting wall. The combined action of the field-induced bipolar induced double layer and the native unipolar double layer full of cations within the negatively-charged dielectric nanopore leads to a voltage-controllable heterogenous volumetric charge distribution. The electrochemical transport of field-induced counterions along the nanopore length direction creates an internal zone of ion enrichment/depletion, and thereby enhancement/suppression of the resulting electric current inside the Janus nanopore for reverse working status of the nanofluidic ion diode. A mathematical model based upon continuum mechanics is established to study the feasibility of the Janus nanochannel in causing sufficient ion current rectification, and we find that only a good matching between pore diameter and Debye length is able to result in a reliable rectifying functionality for practical applications. This rectification effect is reminiscent of the typical bipolar membrane, but much more flexible on account of the nature of a voltage-based control due to induced-charge electrokinetic polarization of the conducting end, which may hold promise for osmotic energy conversion wherein an electric current appears due to a difference in salt concentration. Our theoretical demonstration of a composite metal-dielectric ion-selective medium provides useful guidelines for construction of flexible on-chip platforms utilizing induced-charge electrokinetic phenomena for a high degree of freedom ion current control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Generation from Micro/Nanofluidics)
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