NonstraightNanochannels Transfer Water Faster ThanStraight Nanochannels.

Understanding the flow of liquidsand particularly water in nanochannelsis important for scientific and technological applications, such asfor filtration and drug delivery. Here we perform molecular dynamicssimulations to investigate the transfer of single-file water moleculesacross straight or nonstraight single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs).In contrast with the macroscopic scenario, the nonstraight nanostructurecan increase the water permeation. Remarkably, compared with the straightSWCNT, the nonstraight SWCNT with the minimal bending angle of 35°in the simulations can enhance the water transport up to 3.5 times.This enhancement mainly originates from the Lennard-Jones interactionbetween water molecules and nonstraight nanostructures. Our work offersan additional freedom to design high-flux nanochannels by choosingnonstraight nanostructures and provides an insight into water flowacross biological water nanochannels, which are often nonstraightsince they are composed of integral membrane proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]