Induced-charge Electrokinetic Phenomena

Motivated by the recent discovery of AC electro-osmosis near micro-electrodes, we predict a broad class of nonlinear electrokinetic phenomena involving induced interfacial charge. By considering various polarizable objects (metals or dielectrics) in DC and AC applied fields, we develop a simple physical picture of `induced-charge electro-osmosis' (ICEO), the fluid slip at a surface due to an electric field acting on the diffuse charge it induces. We also discuss `induced-charge electrophoresis' (ICEP), the analogous motion of a freely-suspended polarizable particle. Both differ significantly from their classical linear counterparts. We present a mathematical theory of ICEO flows in the weakly nonlinear limit of thin double layers. As an example, we calculate the time-dependent ICEO slip around a metallic sphere with a thin dielectric coating in a suddenly-applied DC field. We briefly discuss possible applications of ICEO to microfluidics and of ICEP to colloidal manipulation