Preparation, types, and applications of one- and two-dimensional nanochannels and their transport properties for water and ions

Abstract Biological ion channels play an important role in living processes, such as maintaining osmotic pressure, signal transduction, and transmitting nerve impulses, and can selectively regulate the transmembrane transport of substances. Inspired by the structure and function of biological ion channels, researchers have prepared a variety of biomimetic nanochannels using advanced nanofabrication techniques to study the mechanism of ion transport in the nanoconfined space. In this study, we mainly introduce the current materials and preparation methods of nanochannels; compare the advantages and disadvantages of the current mainstream theoretical models and simulation software; clarify the influence of confinement effect and surface interface effect on the hydrogen bond structure characteristics and phase transition behavior of confined water in graphene nanochannels, revealing the driving effect of separation pressure in nanochannels on water transport, the micromechanical nature of the water flow boundary slip of nanochannels, and the dominant micromechanical mechanism behind the confined mass transfer phenomenon of nanochannels at different scales; and expound the regulation of nanomaterials based on ionic bond modification and the influence of ion transport properties in industrial desalination, energy enrichment, and detection. The future applications of nanochannel bionic design and regulation, ion-exchange filtration membranes, and ultra-high-speed water transport mechanisms are prospected.