Tailored transport through vertically aligned carbon nanofibre membranes; controlled synthesis, modelling, and passive diffusion experiments

The ability to control the permeability of a synthetic membrane structure formed by a spatially stochastic forest of vertically aligned carbon nanofibres is demonstrated. Control of membrane pore size and morphology was achieved by varying the thickness of a uniform, conformal coating of SiO2 on the nanofibre surfaces. Characterization of passive diffusion using fluorescence microscopy and labelled latex beads confirms the ability to alter membrane permeability. Further, statistically reproducible transport regimes are predicted for the spatially stochastic membrane as a function of the nanofibre diameter by a Monte Carlo simulation technique. Realizing predictable nanoscale behaviour in a microscopically random, statistical structure is essential for applications requiring controlled, species specific transport.