Single-file transport of water molecules through a carbon nanotube

Phys Rev Lett. 2002 Aug 5;89(6):064503. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.064503. Epub 2002 Jul 23.

Abstract

Recent molecular dynamics simulations of water transport through the interior channel of a carbon nanotube in contact with an aqueous reservoir showed that conduction occurred in bursts with collective water motion. A continuous-time random-walk model is used to describe concerted transport through channels densely filled with molecules in a single-file arrangement, as also found in zeolites, as well as ion channels and aquaporins in biological membranes. Theoretical predictions for different collective properties of the single-file transport agree with the simulation results.

MeSH terms

  • Biological Transport
  • Carbon* / chemistry
  • Carbon* / metabolism
  • Cell Membrane / chemistry
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism
  • Ion Channels* / chemistry
  • Ion Channels* / metabolism
  • Models, Biological
  • Models, Chemical
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Nanotechnology*
  • Water* / chemistry
  • Water* / metabolism

Substances

  • Ion Channels
  • Water
  • Carbon