Slip-enhanced Reverse Electrodialytic Power Generation in Ion-selective Nanochannels

Power generation by reverse electrodialysis in ion-selective nanochannels is numerically investigated. Especially, in the present study, the influence of hydrodynamic slip at the surface of nanochannels is investigated. The cur- rent-potential characteristics of the nanochannels are calculated by solving several governing equations： Nernst-Planck equation for the ionic concentrations, the Poisson equation for the electric potential, and the Na- vier-Stokes equation for the diffusioosmotic flow. Hydrodynamic slip is applied as the boundary condition at the surface of nanochannels. As the slip length increases, the diffusioosmotic flow velocity and electrical conductance of ions increase because the friction at the surface of nanochannels decreases. It is shown that the power genera- tion is enhanced by 44% with a moderate 100nm slip length by using a nanochannel with 10nm height.