Effect of hourglass-shaped nanopore length on osmotic water transport

In the present research, molecular dynamic (MD) simulations are utilized in order to examine the water transport properties through hourglass-shaped pore structures with various lengths. The length elongates in a range of 100-200 Å, while the size of the narrowest diameter remains constant at 3 Å. The results show that the defect effect can be substantially diminished as the length increases, so that the fluctuations of the energy barrier reaches zero inside 200 Å pore structure, which is an indication of rapid increase of water transport rate. The flux increases with length, suggesting a reduction in hydrodynamic resistance, that water molecules are able to easily enter the pore. The axial diffusivity and permeability are increased once the length increments, which indicate a fast water transport. It is concluded that the thermal fluctuations of water molecules inside reservoir affect the motion of water molecules inside the pore as length decreases.