Related papers: Ionization at a solid-water interface in an applie…
The surface charge associated with the spontaneous polarization in ferroelectrics is well known to cause a depolarizing field that can be particularly detrimental in the thin-film geometry desirable for microelectronic devices. Incomplete…
Light and heat drive interfacial chemistry at solid-liquid interfaces, underpinning processes central to sustainable energy conversion, including photoelectrochemical and hydrovoltaic systems. Yet, non-invasive probing of light-induced…
Liquid water at ambient temperature displays ultrafast molecular motions and concomitant fluctuations of very strong electric fields originating from the dipolar H2O molecules. We show that such random intermolecular fields induce tunnel…
An electrode contact-related mechanism for the operational instability of organic electronic devices is proposed and confirmed via observation of a water-induced change in charge-injection barrier eights at the…
One prominent structural feature of ionic liquids near surfaces is formation of alternating layers of anions and cations. However, how this layering responds to applied potential is poorly understood. We focus on the structure of…
The ionization state of the gas plays a key role in the MHD of protoplanetary disks. However, the ionization state can depend on the gas dynamics, because electric fields induced by MHD turbulence can heat up plasmas and thereby affect the…
Nanoconfinement effects on water dissociation and reactivity remain controversial, despite their importance to understand the aqueous chemistry at interfaces, pores, or aerosols. The pKw in confined environments has been assessed from…
The interaction of water with $\alpha$-alumina (i.e. $\alpha$-Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ surfaces is important in a variety of applications and a useful model for the interaction of water with environmentally abundant aluminosilicate phases. Despite…
Heterostructures of 2D materials offer a fertile ground to study ion transport and charge storage. Here we employ ab initio molecular dynamics to examine the proton-transfer/diffusion and redox behavior in a water layer confined in the…
Ion specificity and related Hofmeister effects, ubiquitous in aqueous systems, can have spectacular consequences in hydrated clays, where ion-specific nanoscale surface forces can determine large scale cohesive, swelling and shrinkage…
Semiconducting Barrier Discharges (SeBDs) generate uniform ionization waves in air at atmospheric pressure. In this work, we investigate how externally applied irradiation synchronized with the discharge can mimic photoconductive-type…
Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations of electrode material properties in high energy density storage devices like lithium batteries have been standard practice for decades. In contrast, DFT modelling of explicit interfaces in…
Quantitative description of reaction mechanisms in aqueous phase electrochemistry requires experimental characterization of local water structure at the electrode/aqueous interface and its evolution with changing potential. Gaining such…
We explore the force generation and surface interactions arising when electric fields are applied across fluid films. Using a surface force balance (SFB) we measure directly the force between two electrodes in crossed-cylinder geometry…
Electrical image potentials near a metallic or a dielectric wall of higher dielectric constant than that of the solution are attractive, and therefore, can concentrate salt ions near the wall. It has recently been observed that near a…
The morphology and transport properties of thin films of the ionomer Nafion, with thicknesses on the order of the bulk cluster size, have been investigated as a model system to explain the anomalous behaviour of catalyst/electrode-polymer…
Water is a polar solvent and hence supports the bulk dissociation of itself and its solutes into ions, and the re-association of these ions into neutral molecules in a dynamic equilibrium, e.g., ${\rm H_2O_2}\leftrightharpoons {\rm…
Using a solid electrolyte to tune the carrier density in thin-film materials is an emerging technique that has potential applications in both basic and applied research. Until now, only materials containing small ions, such as protons and…
A nanopores's response to an electrical potential drop is characterized by its electrical conductance, \tilde{G}. It has long been thought that at low concentrations, the conductance is independent of the electrolyte concentration,…
Electrostatic charging of insulating fine particles can be responsible for numerous phenomena ranging from lightning in volcanic plumes to dust explosions. However, even basic aspects of how fine particles become charged are still unclear.…