Group News

This study addresses a fundamental question in electrochemical neuromorphic computing: How can the brain’s molecular-level principles be effectively implemented in artificial neuromorphic devices? Traditional transistor-based solid-state computing relies on electron-mediated signaling, whereas biological systems use ion signaling and achieve intelligence with remarkable energy efficiency. Historically, liquid-state ionic devices have received limited attention in the context of logic operations due to the overwhelming dominance of solid-state electronics. However, the recent success of large-scale AI—and growing concerns about energy sustainability—have renewed interest in the direct implementation of the brain’s energy-efficient iontronic mechanisms on liquid-state ionic platforms. This work presents how to leverage the unique electrochemical diversity of iontronics in achieving new ionic functions.

Our recent work conducted at NIST has been published in Physical Review Letters and is now available online. I deeply appreciate the immense contributions of Dr. Alex Smolyanitsky and the valuable feedback from Dr. Demian Riccardi.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/vtw2-z4f8

Our recent collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar has been published online! DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62737-3

Huge congratulations to Dr. Biswabhusan and our collaborators! Our latest collaborative research paper on voltage-gated ion transport in Ångström-scale confinement has been accepted for publication in Nature Communications.

This work presents a significant advancement in realizing voltage-gated ion transport through incredibly narrow (2.6 ~ 6 Ångström) channels, with almost perfect cation selectivity even at high concentration. We are thrilled to share this achievement and look forward to its publication.

Our comprehensive molecular dynamics research on the transition between diffusion- to barrier-limited transport is published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B.

Subdiffusive transport of aqueous ions is an interfacial phenomenon where transport is governed by local free energy barriers. It underlies fascinating phenomenology, including highly selective transport, mechanosensitive phenomena, as well as memristive effects. Although leveraging subdiffusive transport in nanofluidic applications is a relatively recent idea within the nanofluidic community, biological organisms have long exploited it for sophisticated functions such as neurotransmission, sensory perception, and molecular filtration. Despite its significance, our understanding of the transition from diffusive to subdiffusive transport remains rudimentary. Existing literature in fact often postulates that the transition occurs as the pore size decreases below nanometer scale on the broad basis of “steric confinement.”

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Our computational demonstration of synaptic plasticity in a 2D porous membrane is now available online! We are deeply grateful for this achievement.

The human brain uses a variety of ions and molecules to perform its sophisticated functions in an energy-efficient manner. In contrast, state-of-the-art neuromorphic technology relies on solid-state memristors that utilize a single type of charge carrier—the electron. While the importance of ionic diversity in brain function is well acknowledged, our ability to harness it to implement artificial neuromorphic functionalities remains a key open question. Our study presents the first computational demonstration of synaptic-like plasticity in two-dimensional porous membranes that directly arises from multi-ion effects. In particular, due to the atomic thinness of the membrane, the conductive states are tunable by nanosecond-scale voltage pulses. This results in attojoule (aJ)-scale energy dissipation per spike, which is several orders of magnitude lower than that of a biological synapse (0.1–10 fJ/spike).

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