Separation of SiO2 nanoparticles from H2O vapour using graphene nano-pores in the presence of an external electric field: A molecular dynamics approach

Air pollution is known as one of the most important causes of death in the whole world. Therefore, pollution reduction to achieve clean air was noticed by everyone. This way, using nanotechnology to control air and monitor is a novel approach. This paper investigates the effect of the number of graphene nano-pores on the SiO2 separation from the H2O vapour in the presence of an external electric field with the magnitude of 0.01 V/angstrom using the molecular dynamics (MD) method. The electric field affects the charged particles and causes distur-bance in the structure. It also prevents SiO2 nanoparticles from passing through the graphene nanosheet. Also, the presence of carbon nanosheets acts as a membrane and affects the diffusion of water in the nanostructure. So, the results show that in the presence of a nano-pore, the number of H2O molecules reaches to 496 and 568 in reservoirs 2 and 3. Also, the number of SiO2 nanoparticles reaches 10 and 4 in reservoirs 2 and 3. This shows that in reservoirs 2 and 3, about 80% and 60% of the SiO2 nanoparticles are separated. As mentioned before, the electric field prevents the passage of SiO2 nanoparticles through the graphene nanosheet. As the number of graphene nano-pores increases by 2, 3, 4, and 5, the number of passing water molecules increases. Considering that the number of graphene nano-pores has increased and the movement path of particles has increased, the number of passing particles almost increases. However, the electric field prevents the passage of SiO2 nano-particles. According to the results, the suggested setup can be employed for designing highly efficient nano-structured membranes for air purification and monitoring.

Automated summary

Air pollution is a major cause of death worldwide, and reducing pollution for clean air has gained attention. This study investigates the effect of the number of graphene nano-pores on the separation of SiO2 from H2O vapor in the presence of an electric field. The results show that increasing the number of graphene nano-pores increases the passage of water molecules, while the electric field prevents the passage of SiO2 nanoparticles, suggesting potential applications for efficient air purification and monitoring.