Asymmetrically shaped nanopores have been shown to rectify the ionic current flowing through pores in a fashion similar to a p-n junction in a solid-state diode. Such asymmetric nanopores include conical pores in polymeric membranes and pyramidal pores in mica membranes. We review here both theoretical and experimental aspects of this ion current rectification phenomenon. A simple intuitive mod...

We investigate the thermal rectification phenomena in asymmetric graphene and carbon nanotube systems using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The effects of various parameters, including mean temperature, temperature difference, and system size on rectification factor have been studied. In homogenous triangular graphene nanoribbons (TGNR), the heat current is normally higher from wide to nar...

Magnetoresistance and rectification are two fundamental physical properties of heterojunctions and respectively have wide applications in spintronics devices. Being different from the well known various magnetoresistance effects, here we report a brand new large magnetoresistance that can be regarded as rectification magnetoresistance: the application of a pure small sinusoidal alternating-curr...

Inward rectifier K+ channels are important in regulating membrane excitability in many cell types. The physiological functions of these channels are related to their unique inward rectification, which has been attributed to voltage-dependent block. Here, we show that inward rectification can also be induced by neutral and positively charged residues at site 224 in the internal vestibule of tetr...

Electrical control of magnetotransport properties is crucial for device applications in the field of spintronics. In this work, as an extension of our previous observation of rectification magnetoresistance, an innovative technique for electrical control of rectification magnetoresistance has been developed by applying direct current and alternating current simultaneously to the Ge-based Schott...

Thermal rectification is a fundamental phenomenon for active heat flow control. Significant thermal rectification is expected to exist in the asymmetric nanostructures, such as nanowires and thin films. As a one-atom-thick membrane, graphene has attracted much attention for realizing thermal rectification as shown by many molecular dynamics simulations. Here, we experimentally demonstrate therm...