Nanofluidics: A New Arena for Materials Science

Abstract

A significant growth of research in nanofluidics is achieved over the past decade, but the field is still facing considerable challenges toward the transition from the current physics-centered stage to the next application-oriented stage. Many of these challenges are associated with materials science, so the field of nanofluidics offers great opportunities for materials scientists to exploit. In addition, the use of unusual effects and ultrasmall confined spaces of well-defined nanofluidic environments would offer new mechanisms and technologies to manipulate nanoscale objects as well as to synthesize novel nanomaterials in the liquid phase. Therefore, nanofluidics will be a new arena for materials science. In the past few years, burgeoning progress has been made toward this trend, as overviewed in this article, including materials and methods for fabricating nanofluidic devices, nanofluidics with functionalized surfaces and functional material components, as well as nanofluidics for manipulating nanoscale materials and fabricating new nanomaterials. Many critical challenges as well as fantastic opportunities in this arena lie ahead. Some of those, which are of particular interest, are also discussed.

Flow with nanoparticle clustering controlled by optical forces in quartz glass nanoslits

“…2.2. Some recent progress on the fabrication of glass-made nanochannels is summarized in a review article (Xu 2017). Figure 1c shows a magnified view of the test section near the entrance of the contraction channel, as shown in Fig.…”

Ionic Diffusion, Nanoparticle Formation and Trapping Within Sol‐Gel Made Pillared Planar Nanochannels in a Simple Microfluidic Device

“…New approaches are needed to overcome these issues . Extensive and reliable fabrication of nanofluidic devices is crucial to assess the fundamental properties of liquids and solutes in nanoconfinement.…”

“…New approaches are needed to overcome these issues. [18] Extensive and reliable fabrication of nanofluidic devices is crucial to assess the fundamental properties of liquids and solutes in nanoconfinement. Tackling the fabrication-technological challenge is of primary importance both for applications and for fundamental studies.…”

Communication—Evaporation Driven Micro/Nanofluidic Pumping Device

“…[4][5][6] Recent advances in nanofabrication have enabled a significant growth of research in nanofluidics. 7 New physical phenomena and mechanisms start to emerge in fluidic geometries with characteristic dimensions in a range of 10-1000 nm (known as "extended nanospace"), e.g., higher viscosity, lower dielectric constant, and higher proton mobility of liquid water than in the bulk. 8 These unique properties can be applied to the analysis of ultra-small volume samples, such as nanofluidic immunoassays at picoliters (pL = 10 −12 L) or smaller scales.…”