Science. 1995 May 5;268(5211):700-2. doi: 10.1126/science.268.5211.700.
Membranes containing cylindrical metal nanotubules that span the complete thickness of the membrane are described. The inside radius of the nanotubules can be varied at will; nanotubule radii as small as 0.8 nanometer are reported. These membranes show selective ion transport analogous to that observed in ion-exchange polymers. Ion permselectivity occurs because excess charge density can be present on the inner walls of the metal tubules. The membranes reject ions with the same sign as the excess charge and transport ions of the opposite sign. Because the sign of the excess charge on the tubule can be changed potentiostatically, a metal nanotubule membrane can be either cation selective or anion selective, depending on the potential applied to the membrane.
本文描述了一种含有圆柱形金属纳米管的膜，这些纳米管贯穿整个膜的厚度。纳米管的内半径可以随意改变；据报道，纳米管的半径小至 0.8 纳米。这些膜表现出类似于离子交换聚合物中观察到的选择性离子传输。离子选择性透过性的产生是因为金属管的内壁上可以存在过量的电荷密度。膜排斥与过量电荷具有相同符号的离子，并传输具有相反符号的离子。由于管上的过量电荷的符号可以通过恒电位电化学方法改变，因此，根据施加到膜上的电势，金属纳米管膜可以是阳离子选择性的或阴离子选择性的。
