When Colloidal Chemistry Meets Electrochemistry

This invited Team Profile was created by the Laboratory of Electrochemistry, Electroanalytic, and Sensor Development (LEEDS), Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas, Brazil. They recently published an article about the origin of the zeta potential on an aqueous graphite dispersion prepared without passivating agents, with a minimal number of functional groups, and using concentrated ammonium hydroxide. Ammonia transfers electrons to graphite and raises the Fermi level of the carbon material above the original value. This electron excess generates the negative zeta potential, therefore it accounts for colloidal stability. “The Electronic Origin of the Zeta Potential is Supported by the Redox Mechanism on an Aqueous Dispersion of Exfoliated Graphite”, J. P. V. Damasceno, L. T. Kubota, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, e202214995 ; Angew. Chem. 2022, e202214995