We propose a mechanism to alter the nature of the potential barriers when a biased Brownian particle undergoes a constrained motion in narrow periodic channel. By changing the angle of the external bias, the nature of the potential barriers changes from purely entropic to energetic, which in turn affects the diffusion process in the system. At an optimum angle of the bias, the nonlinear mobility exhibits a striking bell-shaped behavior. Moreover, the enhancement of the scaled effective diffusion coefficient can be efficiently controlled by the angle of the bias. This mechanism enables the proper design of channel structures for transport of molecules and small particles. The approximate analytical predictions have been verified by precise Brownian dynamics simulations.

• Received 11 August 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.82.051128