Upcoming Event: Oden Institute Seminar

Ohmic Conductance of Nanofluidic Systems: Paradigm and Beyond

Dr. Yoav Green, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

Abstract

Two decades ago, the Ohmic conductance paradigm of nanofluidic systems was established wherein it was observed that the conductance shifted from a linear concentration dependence on the concentration to one that is concentration dependent. This change occurs as the effects of the surface charge density become more dominant and the system becomes more selective. However, as experimental setups become more elaborate, it appears that this paradigm is incapable of accurately describing observations. In particular, various works have shown that surface charge regulation, slip lengths, and the microchannels can drastically vary the low concentration slope. Further, the current paradigm is also incapable of predicting the conductance for a system subjected to a concentration gradient. 

In this talk, I will survey my lab's efforts to show that the current paradigm does not necessarily need to be abandoned and how, through various modifications, the paradigm can be correctly and consistently updated. I will present some of these newer models and the key insights they provide. I will also discuss our lab's future goal of merging all the models into a single universal model. 

 

Biography

Yoav Green joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Ben-Gurion University in 2019 as a Senior Lecturer (equivalent to US tenure-track Asst. Prof.). Yoav heads the Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, where his current research focus is nanofluidics and electrokinetics. In particular, Yoav’s research group utilizes a combination of theoretical modeling, numerical simulations, and experiments to investigate the electrical response of nanochannel systems.