Nanopores with controlled profiles in track-etched membranes

The production of the track-etched membranes is well known in membrane science. Latent ion tracks are the result of the passage of swift ions through solid matter, they can be etched selectively in many materials. As a result, conical, cylindrical or other shape channels can be obtained. The increasing interest in polymer track-etched membranes with nano-channels is connected with the development and creation of nanoporous materials with unique properties. The main directions of the research work include: (i) development of membranes with diode-like pores, highly asymmetrical nanopores for molecular sensors; highly asymmetrical nanopores for atom beam optics [1, 6], (ii) development of high-performance asymmetrical track membranes [1], (iii) study of propagation of X-rays and acoustic waves through track-etched membranes as model porous medium [7] and (iv) development of nanocapillary bodies for modelling the transport of molecules and ions in constrained volumes [6]. Ion and molecule transport, sensing and separation with nanopores are the potential applications of membranes. Narrow track-etched pores in a polymer have similar properties of biological ion channels [4, 13, 14]. It has been found that conical nanopores are cation selective and have diode-like voltage-current characteristics [4, 13]. Also the shape of pore tip determines the transport properties of the asymmetric narrow channels and, therefore, the control over the profile Nanopores with controlled profiles in track-etched membranes Bożena A. Sartowska, Oleg L. Orelovitch, Adam Presz, Pavel Yu. Apel, Irina V. Blonskaya