Abstract
Nanoscale structures that could mimic the selective transport and extraordinarily fast flow possible in biological cellular channels would have a wide range of potential applications. Here we show that liquid flow through a membrane composed of an array of aligned carbon nanotubes is four to five orders of magnitude faster than would be predicted from conventional fluid-flow theory. This high fluid velocity results from an almost frictionless interface at the carbon-nanotube wall.
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The University of Kentucky has filed a US utility patent application SN60/570,927 concerning the fabrication of carbon nanotube membranes described in B. J. Hinds et al. Science 303, 62–65 (2004).
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Majumder, M., Chopra, N., Andrews, R. et al. Enhanced flow in carbon nanotubes. Nature 438, 44 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/438044a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/438044a
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