Coherence Resonance in a Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Ion Channel

Oscillations in Carbon Nanotube Conductivity Theoretical studies have suggested that protons can be conducted rapidly in water trapped inside carbon nanotubes. C. Y. Lee et al. (p. 1320 ) connected two aqueous reservoirs with opened, single-walled carbon nanotubes, half a millimeter long but only 1.5 nanometers wide, and observed a high, stable proton current under electroosmotic conditions arising from a single nanotube. The addition of alkali cations caused random pore blocking and oscillations in ion current, resembling events seen in biological ion channels.