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Contributed Speaker

Diana M Arvelo

Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, CSIC, Spain

Interfacial water on electrode surfaces by 3D AFM

Diana M Arvelo and Ricardo Garcia

 

Solid-liquid interfaces play a key role in several disciplines and applications, including electrochemical conversion and storage. The understanding at the molecular scale of the electrical double layer is critical in many applications1. Three dimensional AFM (3D AFM) is an advanced Atomic Force Microscopy technique which allows imaging in the angstrom range the structuring of liquids next to a solid surface2-3. Here, 3D AFM was applied to study the interaction of liquid water on graphite and MoS2 surfaces. We have imaged in real-time the evolution these interfaces. We show a transition from hydration layers separated by 0.3 nm (similar to van der Waals diameter of a water molecule) to hydrocarbon layers characterized by distances of 0.45 nm. A molecular dynamics simulations model explains the process3. The removal of these hydrocarbon layering can be performed by the application of a potential cycle. However, the hydrocarbon layering seems to return some time after the application of this cycle. Meaning that the presence of alkane molecules at the interface might be unavoidable at open circuit conditions.

 

References

[1] P. Simon, Y. Gogotsi, Nat. Mater. 19, 1151−1163 (2020)

[2] T. Fukuma, R. Garcia, ACS Nano 12, 11785-11797 (2018)

[3] M. R. Uhlig, D. Martin-Jimenez, R. Garcia, Nat. Commun. 10, 2606 (2019)

[4] D.M. Arvelo, M.R. Uhlig, J. Comer, R. Garcia, Nanoscale 14, 14178−14184 (2022)