Biological Ion Channels-Inspired Materials for Energy Conversion, Ionic Sieving, and Sensing
A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2026
Special Issue Editor
Interests: preparation and ordered assembly of low-dimensional materials; surface/interface regulation of functional nanochannel materials; directional transport of molecules/ions and its applications in energy, sensing and related fields
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The Special Issue “Biological Ion Channels-Inspired Materials for Energy Conversion, Ionic Sieving, and Sensing” aims to showcase the latest advances in the rational design, controllable fabrication, multi-scale characterization, and multifunctional applications of artificial nanopores and nanochannels. Inspired by biological ion channels, these artificial nanofluidic systems offer unprecedented spatial confinement, surface tunability, and ion/molecule transport selectivity, providing powerful platforms for single-molecule sensing, label-free biosensing, energy conversion, seawater desalination, and neuromorphic computing. This Special Issue welcomes contributions that address fundamental mechanisms—such as ionic rectification, gating, quantum-confined superfluid transport, and external-field-driven selectivity—as well as technological innovations that translate nanofluidic phenomena into portable, high-throughput, and energy-efficient devices. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: two-dimensional-material-based nanochannels (e.g., MXene, graphene oxide, MoS2), asymmetric/hybrid pore architectures, surface modification strategies (pore-in, outer-surface, or dual functionalization), stimuli-responsive nanochannels, ionic logic circuits, and large-area membrane integration. Emphasis is also placed on emerging fabrication routes (CVD, wet-spinning, TEM drilling, ion-track etching), in situ/operando characterization, and multiphysics simulations bridging atomistic insights to device-level performance. By integrating experimental, theoretical, and application-oriented perspectives, this Special Issue will serve as an interdisciplinary forum for researchers to share breakthroughs, identify big challenges, and inspire future directions in solid-state nanopore/nanochannel science, paving the way toward next-generation sensing, information, and energy technologies.
Prof. Dr. Xiang-Yu Kong
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- solid-state nanopores/nanochannels
- surface functionalization
- confined ion/molecule transport
- selective ion sieving
- regulated ion transport under external fields
- energy conversion
- single-molecule detection
- nanofluidic sensing
- nanofluidic ionic gating/transistors
- low-energy ionic devices
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