A Landau-Squire nanojet

Nano Lett. 2013 Nov 13;13(11):5141-6. doi: 10.1021/nl402350a. Epub 2013 Oct 23.

Abstract

Fluid jets are found in nature at all length scales from microscopic to cosmological. Here we report on an electroosmotically driven jet from a single glass nanopore about 75 nm in radius with a maximum flow rate ~15 pL/s. A novel anemometry technique allows us to map out the vorticity and velocity fields that show excellent agreement with the classical Landau-Squire solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for a point jet. We observe a phenomenon that we call flow rectification: an asymmetry in the flow rate with respect to voltage reversal. Such a nanojet could potentially find applications in micromanipulation, nanopatterning, and as a diode in microfluidic circuits.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Models, Theoretical
  • Nanotechnology*