IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-61735-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Theoretical framework for confined ion transport in two-dimensional nanochannels

Author

Listed:
  • Shouwei Liao

    (South China University of Technology)

  • Yanchang Liu

    (South China University of Technology)

  • Libo Li

    (South China University of Technology)

  • Li Ding

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Yanying Wei

    (South China University of Technology
    Quzhou Membrane Material Innovation Institute)

  • Haihui Wang

    (Tsinghua University)

Abstract

Quantitative understanding of ion transport mechanism is crucial for numerous applications of two-dimensional (2D) nanochannels, but is far from being resolved. Here, we formulated a theoretical framework for both self-diffusion and electromigration of hydrated monatomic ions in various 2D nanochannels (e.g. graphene, h-BN, g-C3N4, MoS2), by molecular dynamics simulations. The self-diffusivity and mobility of ions in 2D nanochannels both increases linearly with ion-wall distance for small hydrated ions, yet keeps constant for large ones. The underlying mechanism reveals that when ions approach water-layers in nanochannels or possess large hydration shell, their hydration shells become severely distorted. This increases the free energy difference between hydration shell and the surrounding water-layers, water residence time in hydration shell and ion-water friction. Several involving quantitative relations were revealed, with Nernst–Einstein relation validated with both simulations and theoretical derivation. This work shows profound implications for various applications, including ion-sieving, nanodevices and nano-power generators, etc.

Suggested Citation

  • Shouwei Liao & Yanchang Liu & Libo Li & Li Ding & Yanying Wei & Haihui Wang, 2025. "Theoretical framework for confined ion transport in two-dimensional nanochannels," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-61735-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61735-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61735-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-61735-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Li Ding & Libo Li & Yanchang Liu & Yi Wu & Zong Lu & Junjie Deng & Yanying Wei & Jürgen Caro & Haihui Wang, 2020. "Effective ion sieving with Ti3C2Tx MXene membranes for production of drinking water from seawater," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(4), pages 296-302, April.
    2. T. Mouterde & A. Keerthi & A. R. Poggioli & S. A. Dar & A. Siria & A. K. Geim & L. Bocquet & B. Radha, 2019. "Molecular streaming and its voltage control in ångström-scale channels," Nature, Nature, vol. 567(7746), pages 87-90, March.
    3. Nikita Kavokine & Marie-Laure Bocquet & Lydéric Bocquet, 2022. "Fluctuation-induced quantum friction in nanoscale water flows," Nature, Nature, vol. 602(7895), pages 84-90, February.
    4. Zhipeng Wang & Liqin Huang & Xue Dong & Tong Wu & Qi Qing & Jing Chen & Yuexiang Lu & Chao Xu, 2023. "Ion sieving in graphene oxide membrane enables efficient actinides/lanthanides separation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
    5. Liang Chen & Guosheng Shi & Jie Shen & Bingquan Peng & Bowu Zhang & Yuzhu Wang & Fenggang Bian & Jiajun Wang & Deyuan Li & Zhe Qian & Gang Xu & Gongping Liu & Jianrong Zeng & Lijuan Zhang & Yizhou Yan, 2017. "Ion sieving in graphene oxide membranes via cationic control of interlayer spacing," Nature, Nature, vol. 550(7676), pages 380-383, October.
    6. C. Y. Hu & A. Achari & P. Rowe & H. Xiao & S. Suran & Z. Li & K. Huang & C. Chi & C. T. Cherian & V. Sreepal & P. D. Bentley & A. Pratt & N. Zhang & K. S. Novoselov & A. Michaelides & R. R. Nair, 2023. "pH-dependent water permeability switching and its memory in MoS2 membranes," Nature, Nature, vol. 616(7958), pages 719-723, April.
    7. Sungsoon Kim & Sangjin Choi & Hae Gon Lee & Dana Jin & Gwangmook Kim & Taehoon Kim & Joon Sang Lee & Wooyoung Shim, 2021. "Neuromorphic van der Waals crystals for substantial energy generation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    8. Qian Yang & P. Z. Sun & L. Fumagalli & Y. V. Stebunov & S. J. Haigh & Z. W. Zhou & I. V. Grigorieva & F. C. Wang & A. K. Geim, 2020. "Capillary condensation under atomic-scale confinement," Nature, Nature, vol. 588(7837), pages 250-253, December.
    9. B. Radha & A. Esfandiar & F. C. Wang & A. P. Rooney & K. Gopinadhan & A. Keerthi & A. Mishchenko & A. Janardanan & P. Blake & L. Fumagalli & M. Lozada-Hidalgo & S. Garaj & S. J. Haigh & I. V. Grigorie, 2016. "Molecular transport through capillaries made with atomic-scale precision," Nature, Nature, vol. 538(7624), pages 222-225, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tianshu Chu & Ze Zhou & Pengfei Tian & Tingting Yu & Cheng Lian & Bowei Zhang & Fu-Zhen Xuan, 2024. "Nanofluidic sensing inspired by the anomalous water dynamics in electrical angstrom-scale channels," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Xinyue Wen & Tobias Foller & Xiaoheng Jin & Tiziana Musso & Priyank Kumar & Rakesh Joshi, 2022. "Understanding water transport through graphene-based nanochannels via experimental control of slip length," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Qian Zhang & Bo Gao & Ling Zhang & Xiaopeng Liu & Jixiang Cui & Yijun Cao & Hongbo Zeng & Qun Xu & Xinwei Cui & Lei Jiang, 2023. "Anomalous water molecular gating from atomic-scale graphene capillaries for precise and ultrafast molecular sieving," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Chaofan Zhou & Hongjie Gao & Saiyu Bu & Haotian Wu & Fan Liang & Fangfang Li & Zhaoning Hu & Yixuan Zhao & Bingbing Guo & Zelong Li & Li Yin & Xiaokai Hu & Qin Xie & Yang Su & Zhongfan Liu & Li Lin, 2025. "Principles for fabricating moisture barrier films via stacked Janus graphene layers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    5. Zhipeng Wang & Liqin Huang & Xue Dong & Tong Wu & Qi Qing & Jing Chen & Yuexiang Lu & Chao Xu, 2023. "Ion sieving in graphene oxide membrane enables efficient actinides/lanthanides separation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
    6. Kuichang Zuo & Xiang Zhang & Xiaochuan Huang & Eliezer F. Oliveira & Hua Guo & Tianshu Zhai & Weipeng Wang & Pedro J. J. Alvarez & Menachem Elimelech & Pulickel M. Ajayan & Jun Lou & Qilin Li, 2022. "Ultrahigh resistance of hexagonal boron nitride to mineral scale formation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Mingzhan Wang & Qinsi Xiong & Xiaolin Yue & Gangbin Yan & Yu Han & Zhiheng Lyu & Zhen Li & Leeann Sun & Eli Hoenig & Kangli Xu & Nicholas H. C. Lewis & Kenneth M. Merz & Qian Chen & George C. Schatz &, 2025. "Cooperative and inhibitory ion transport in functionalized angstrom-scale two-dimensional channels," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
    8. Nathan Ronceray & Massimo Spina & Vanessa Hui Yin Chou & Chwee Teck Lim & Andre K. Geim & Slaven Garaj, 2024. "Elastocapillarity-driven 2D nano-switches enable zeptoliter-scale liquid encapsulation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    9. Peifu Cheng & Francesco Fornasiero & Melinda L. Jue & Wonhee Ko & An-Ping Li & Juan Carlos Idrobo & Michael S. H. Boutilier & Piran R. Kidambi, 2022. "Differences in water and vapor transport through angstrom-scale pores in atomically thin membranes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    10. Haiguang Zhang & Jiajian Xing & Gaoliang Wei & Xu Wang & Shuo Chen & Xie Quan, 2024. "Electrostatic-induced ion-confined partitioning in graphene nanolaminate membrane for breaking anion–cation co-transport to enhance desalination," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    11. Kehan Zou & Haoyang Ling & Qingchen Wang & Congcong Zhu & Zhehua Zhang & Dehua Huang & Ke Li & Yuge Wu & Weiwen Xin & Xiang-Yu Kong & Lei Jiang & Liping Wen, 2024. "Turing-type nanochannel membranes with extrinsic ion transport pathways for high-efficiency osmotic energy harvesting," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    12. Yuan Kang & Ting Hu & Yuqi Wang & Kaiqiang He & Zhuyuan Wang & Yvonne Hora & Wang Zhao & Rongming Xu & Yu Chen & Zongli Xie & Huanting Wang & Qinfen Gu & Xiwang Zhang, 2023. "Nanoconfinement enabled non-covalently decorated MXene membranes for ion-sieving," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    13. Nawapong Unsuree & Sorasak Phanphak & Pongthep Prajongtat & Aritsa Bunpheng & Kulpavee Jitapunkul & Pornpis Kongputhon & Pannaree Srinoi & Pawin Iamprasertkun & Wisit Hirunpinyopas, 2021. "A Review: Ion Transport of Two-Dimensional Materials in Novel Technologies from Macro to Nanoscopic Perspectives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-38, September.
    14. Hai Liu & Xinxi Huang & Yang Wang & Baian Kuang & Wanbin Li, 2024. "Nanowire-assisted electrochemical perforation of graphene oxide nanosheets for molecular separation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    15. Rezakazemi, Mashallah & Arabi Shamsabadi, Ahmad & Lin, Haiqing & Luis, Patricia & Ramakrishna, Seeram & Aminabhavi, Tejraj M., 2021. "Sustainable MXenes-based membranes for highly energy-efficient separations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    16. Rongming Xu & Yuan Kang & Weiming Zhang & Bingcai Pan & Xiwang Zhang, 2023. "Two-dimensional MXene membranes with biomimetic sub-nanochannels for enhanced cation sieving," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    17. Weiming Wang & Qingguo Liu & Yingnan Liu & Rigong Zhang & Tian Cheng & Youguo Yan & Qianze Hu & Tingting Li, 2023. "Research Status, Existing Problems, and the Prospect of New Methods of Determining the Lower Limit of the Physical Properties of Tight Sandstone Reservoirs," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-19, July.
    18. Zhuyuan Wang & Ting Hu & Mike Tebyetekerwa & Xiangkang Zeng & Fan Du & Yuan Kang & Xuefeng Li & Hao Zhang & Huanting Wang & Xiwang Zhang, 2024. "Electricity generation from carbon dioxide adsorption by spatially nanoconfined ion separation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    19. Mathieu Lizée & Baptiste Coquinot & Guilhem Mariette & Alessandro Siria & Lydéric Bocquet, 2024. "Anomalous friction of supercooled glycerol on mica," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    20. Cheng Chi & Gongze Liu & Meng An & Yufeng Zhang & Dongxing Song & Xin Qi & Chunyu Zhao & Zequn Wang & Yanzheng Du & Zizhen Lin & Yang Lu & He Huang & Yang Li & Chongjia Lin & Weigang Ma & Baoling Huan, 2023. "Reversible bipolar thermopower of ionic thermoelectric polymer composite for cyclic energy generation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-61735-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.