The field of nonlinear “induced-charge” electrokinetics is rapidly advancing, motivated by potential applications in microfluidics as well as by the unique opportunities it provides for probing fundamental scientific issues in electrokinetics. Over the past few years, several surprising theoretical predictions have been observed in experiments: (i) induced-charge electrophoresis of half-metalli...

A fundamental electrokinetic phenomenon is the electro-osmotic flow of a liquid electrolyte (solution of positive and negative ions) past a charged surface in response to a tangential electric field. Electrophoresis is the related phenomenon of motion of a colloidal particle or molecule in a background electric field, propelled by electro-osmotic flow in the opposite direction. The basic physic...