Modelling of particle-laden flow inside nanomaterials

Yue Chan, Jonathan J. Wylie, Liang Xia, Yong Ren, Yung Tsang Chen

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate the usage of the Nernst-Planck equation in conjunction with mean-field theory to investigate particle-laden flow inside nanomaterials. Most theoretical studies in molecular encapsulation at the nanoscale do not take into account any macroscopic flow fields that are crucial in squeezing molecules into nanostructures. Here, a multi-scale idea is used to address this issue. The macroscopic transport of gas is described by the Nernst-Planck equation, whereas molecular interactions between gases and between the gas and the host material are described using a combination of molecular dynamics simulation and mean-field theory. In particular, we investigate flow-driven hydrogen storage inside doubly layered graphene sheets and graphene-oxide frameworks (GOFs). At room temperature and with slow velocity fields, we find that a single molecular layer is formed almost instantaneously on the inner surface of the graphene sheets, while molecular ligands between GOFs induce multi-layers. For higher velocities, multi-layers are also formed between graphene. For even larger velocities, the cavity of graphene is filled entirely with hydrogen, whereas for GOFs there exist two voids inside each periodic unit. The flow-driven hydrogen storage inside GOFs with various ligand densities is also investigated.

Original languageEnglish
Article number20160289
JournalProceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Volume472
Issue number2192
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • Flow
  • Mathematical modelling
  • Mean-field theory
  • Molecular dynamics simulations
  • Nanomaterials
  • Nernst-Planck equation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Mathematics
  • General Engineering
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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