Current Rectification in Temperature-Responsive Single Nanopores

Herein we demonstrate a fully abiotic smart single-nanopore device that rectifies ionic current in response to the temperature. The temperature-responsive nanopore ionic rectifier can be switched between a rectifying state below 34 degrees C and a non-rectifying state above 38 degrees C actuated by the phase transition of the poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM] brushes. On the rectifying state, the rectifying efficiency can be enhanced by the dehydration of the attached PNIPAM brushes below the LCST. When the PNIPAM brushes have sufficiently collapsed, the nanopore switches to the non-rectifying state. The concept of the temperature-responsive current rectification in chemically-modified nanopores paves a new way for controlling the preferential direction of the ion transport in nanofluidics by modulating the temperature, which has the potential to build novel nanomachines with smart fluidic communication functions for future lab-on-chip devices.