Formation of compounds with diverse polyelectrolyte morphologies and nonlinear ion conductance in a two-dimensional nanofluidic channel

Aqueous electrolytes subjected to angstrom-scale confinement have recently attracted increasing interest because of their distinctive structural and transport properties, as well as their promising applicability in bioinspired nanofluidic iontronics and ion batteries. Here, we performed microsecond-scale molecular dynamics simulations, which provided evidence of nonlinear ionic conductance under an external lateral electric field due to the self-assembly of cations and anions with diverse polyelectrolyte morphologies (e.g., extremely large ion clusters) in aqueous solutions within angstrom-scale slits. Specifically, we found that the cations and anions of Li₂SO₄ and CaSO₄ formed chain-like polyelectrolyte structures, whereas those of Na₂SO₄ and MgSO₄ predominantly formed a monolayer of hydrated salt. Additionally, the cations and anions of K₂SO₄ assembled into a hexagonal anhydrous ionic crystal. These ion-dependent diverse polyelectrolyte morphologies stemmed from the enhanced Coulomb interactions, weakened hydration and steric constraints within the angstrom-scale slits. More importantly, once the monolayer hydrated salt or ionic crystal structure was formed, the field-induced ion current exhibited an intriguing gating effect at a low field strength. This abnormal ion transport was attributed to the concerted movement of cations and anions within the solid polyelectrolytes, leading to the suppression of ion currents. When the electric field exceeded a critical strength, however, the ion current surged rapidly due to the dissolution of many cations and anions within a few nanoseconds in the aqueous solution. © 2024 The Royal Society of Chemistry.