Electrolytic charge inversion at the liquid-solid interface in a nanopore in a doped semiconductor membrane

The electrostatics of a nanopore in a doped semiconductor membrane immersed in an electrolyte is studied with a numerical model. Unlike dielectric membranes that always attract excess positive ion charges at the electrolyte/membrane interface whenever a negative surface charge is present, semiconductor membranes exhibit more versatility in controlling the double layer at the membrane surface. The presence of dopant charge in the semiconductor membrane, the shape of the nanopore and the negative surface charge resulting from the pore fabrication process have competing influences on the double layer formation. The inversion of the electrolyte surface charge from negative to positive is observed for n-Si membranes as a function of the membrane surface charge density, while no such inversion occurs for dielectric and p-Si membranes.