Rectification of ionic current in a nanofluidic diode

We demonstrate rectification of ionic transport in a nanofluidic diode fabricated by introducing a surface charge discontinuity in a nanofluidic channel. Device current-voltage (I-V) characteristics agree qualitatively with a one-dimensional model at moderate to high ionic concentrations. This study illustrates ionic flow control using surface charge patterning in nanofluidic channels under high bias voltages.