Effects of fluid slippage on pressure-driven electrokinetic energy conversion in conical nanochannels

The effects of fluid slippage on the pressure-driven electrokinetic energy conversion in conical nanochannels are systematically investigated in this paper. We present a multiphysical model that couples the Planck–Nernst–Poisson equations and the Navier–Stokes equation with a Navier slip condition to fulfill this purpose. We systematically look into the variation of various performance indicators of electrokinetic energy conversion, for example, streaming current, streaming potential, generation power, energy conversion efficiency, regulation parameter, and enchantment ratio, with the conicity of nanochannels and the slip length for two pressure differences of the same magnitude but opposite directions. Particularly, enhancement ratios related to streaming current, streaming potential, generation power, and energy conversion efficiency are defined to comprehensively measure the enhancement of the performance of electrokinetic energy conversion due to the slip length. The results demonstrate that a combination of large slip length and small conicity enhances the electrokinetic energy conversion performance significantly. Furthermore, the fluid slippage-induced enhancement of the electrokinetic energy conversion in the backward pressure difference mode is stronger than that in the forward pressure difference mode. Our results provide design and operation guidelines for pressure-driven electrokinetic energy conversion devices.