Abstract
Even though highly selective ion pumps are found in the membrane of every living cell, artificial ion selective separation is a longstanding unmet challenge in science and engineering. The development of a membrane-based ion separation technology can drive a dramatic progress in a wide range of applications such as: water treatment, bio-medical devices, extraction of precious metals from sea water, chemical sensors, solar fuels and more. In this contribution we report on the experimental demonstration of ion pumps based on an electronic flashing ratchet mechanism and their theoretical ion sorting performance. Electronic flashing ratchets are devices that utilize a temporal modulation of a spatially asymmetric electric field to drive steady state current. Like peristaltic pumps, where the pump mechanism is not in direct contact with the pumped fluid, electronic ratchets induce a net current with no direct charge transport between the power source and the pumped charge carriers. Thus, electronic ratchets can be used to pump ions in steady state with no electrochemical reactions between the power source and the pumped ions resulting in an 'all-electric' ion pump.
