Hydrodynamic dispersion of neutral solutes in nanochannels: the effect of streaming potential

An analytical model is developed to account for the effect of streaming potential on the hydrodynamic dispersion of neutral solutes in pressure-driven flow. The pressure-driven flow and the resulting electroosmotic backflow exhibit coupled dispersion effects in nanoscale channels where the hydraulic diameter is on the order of the electrical double layer thickness. An effective diffusion coefficient for this regime is derived. The influence of streaming potential on hydrodynamic dispersion is found to be mainly dependent on an electrokinetic parameter, previously termed the figure of merit. Results indicate that streaming potential decreases the effective diffusion coefficient of the solute, while increasing the dispersion coefficient as traditionally defined. This discrepancy arises from the additional effect of streaming potential on average solute velocity, and discussed herein.