Tuning Electromigration Forces on Adsorbates on Low-Dimensional Materials

Electromigration, the movement of atoms induced by electrical currents, is a phenomenon of significant importance in various nanoscale applications. This study focuses on analyzing and optimizing electromigration forces on adsorbates, by considering the direct force resulting from the electric field and the electron wind force due to interactions with current-carrying electrons. Recent research has highlighted the influence of energy level alignment of adsorbates with the fermi level of the current carrying system on the nature of electromigration forces. By altering the electronic structure of current carrying membranes, fine-tuning and optimization of electromigration forces becomes possible, facilitating migration of adsorbates on membrane surfaces. This property finds diverse applications in nanofluidic systems, including mass transport and ionic current generation. Using Density Functional Theory and Non-equilibrium Green’s function calculations, we investigate the nature of electromigration forces on adsorbates across a range of low-dimensional systems such as Graphene, MoS2, MXenes, etc. This study explores the impact of membrane characteristics, including semiconducting, metallic, or insulating properties, on electromigration forces. The results provide valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms and offer guidelines for designing and optimizing nanofluidic systems with tailored electromigration properties.