Investigating the expansion behavior of silicon nitride nanopores

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2024-11, Vol.499, p.156560, Article 156560
• Main Authors: Yan, Han, Hu, Gang, Wu, Ziqing, Chen, Tianyu, Wu, Lingzhi, Lu, Zuhong, Tu, Jing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemical modification; Electron energy loss spectroscopy; Expansion; Expansion modes; Nanopore; Stability
• ISSN: 1385-8947
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2024.156560

•The mechanism of the expansion behavior of solid nanopore and its effect on the electrical properties were explored.•The calculation of the expansion rate of solid-state nanopores is improved, and the prediction accuracy is improved.•Three kinds of expansion models can explain the effect of expansion behavior on electrical properties.•Molecular dynamics simulations illustrated the expansion behavior from the single-atom level..•A chemical modification scheme was proposed to obtain long-term stable solid-state nanopores. Nanopores are a single-molecule detection platform that has attracted more and more researchers’ attention, but so far there is still a lack of systematic research on their stability. In this study, we investigated the mechanism behind the expansion behavior of solid-state nanopores and its effect on the electrical properties of nanopores. Through the analysis of electron energy loss spectroscopy, it was found that the expansion process of nanopores is accompanied by the loss of silicon elements. Three nanopore expansion models can well explain the differential impact of silicon element loss in different regions on the electrical properties of nanopores. Molecular dynamics simulations analyzed the differences in nanopore conductivity and expansion rate corresponding to different expansion models from the perspective of single-atom loss. Finally, we demonstrated that chemical modification can isolate direct contact between the nanopore wall and the solution, thereby greatly delaying the expansion behavior of solid-state nanopores.