Control the ion transport in a C2N-based nanochannel with tunable interlayer spacing

Selective ion transport through a nanochannel formed by stacked two-dimensional materials plays a key role in water desalination, nanofiltration, and ion separation. Although there have been many functional nanomaterials used in these applications, it still remains a challenging problem how to well control the ion transport in the laminar structure so as to obtain desired selectivity. In the present work, the transport of ions through a C2N-based nanochannel is investigated by using all-atom molecular dynamics simulation. It is found that the C2N-based nanochannel with different interlayer spacing posses diverse ion selectivity, which is mainly attributed to the distinct loading capability among ions and the different velocity of ions inside the nanochannel. Moreover, we also find that the ion selectivity is dependent on the electric field, but nearly independent on the salt concentration. The present study may provide some physical insights into the experimental design of C2N-based nanodevices in nanofiltration.