Research

Liquid flow measurements through single graphene pores

Fluid flow through small pores is enabling new nanotechnologies for high performance chemical separations, fluid and molecular sensing, and energy storage and conversion.  At this scale, flow behavior can deviate considerably from larger-scale flows, yet a much smaller catalogue of experimental techniques is available to measure them. We developed optical techniques to measure liquid flow rates through graphene pores as small as 200 nm. Although the pore being measured is too small to resolve with an optical microscope, the method provides a flow rate by analyzing the larger, slower flow field produced downstream of the pore. 

Carbon nanotube micropillar flow sensors

Miniature fluid flow sensors are being integrated into autonomous air and water vehicles, microfluidic devices, medical equipment, and intelligent systems with ever increasing complexity.  We developed a sensor, smaller than a grain of sand, consisting of a pair of carbon nanotube pillars that deflect in flow to create a capacitance change between them.  The design furthers efforts to miniaturize fluid flow sensors to enable increasingly smaller devices. 

Nanopore mass transport mechanisms

Atomically thin materials, such as graphene, open new possibilities in membrane design that promise thousands of times higher flow rates than existing technology.  They have the potential to revolutionize separation processes including desalination and carbon capture.  Engineering tools to predict mass flow rates through these systems are required to guide membrane design and optimize performance.  We use continuum and molecular simulations to investigate transport mechanisms through nanopores and develop analytical tools for their analysis.