Numerical simulation of natural convection of electrolyte solution with three types of ions in the electrochemical cell with vertical electrodes

The mass transfer in the electrolyte solution with three types of ions in the electrochemical cell of square section with vertical electrodes is studied. The mathematical model of the process involves the Navier-Stokes equations in the Boussinesq approximation, the equations of ionic transfer of electrolyte components, which is caused by diffusion, convection, and migration, and the condition of electroneutrality. It is shown that this problem corresponds to a special case of thermosolutal convection with regard for thermodiffusion (the Soret effect), where the cell boundaries are permeable to an impurity and the flux of impurity through the boundary is proportional to the heat flux. Using the numerical simulation, the distributions of concentration of ions, solution density, local and average mass-transfer rates are studied. The approximate analytical equations for the limiting current are obtained for typical electrochemical systems.     

细胞色素c在微-液/液界面上电化学行为的研究

本文采用电化学技术,研究了细胞色素c（Cyt c）在玻璃微米管尖端处形成的微-水/1,2-二氯乙烷（W/DCE）界面上的电化学行为.选用四丁基铵四苯硼（TBAT-PB）、四丁基铵四氯代苯硼（TBATPBCl）以及四丁基铵四氟代苯硼（TBATPBF）三种不同的有机相支持电解质来研究Cyt c在W/DCE界面上的反应.在电势窗较窄的含TBATPB体系中只能够观察到吸附过程;在电势窗较宽的含TBATPBCl和TBATPBF的体系中,可以同时观察到吸附与离子转移过程.当Cyt c浓度较低时,两种过程都可以观察到;当Cyt c浓度较高时,主要是吸附.文中对这些过程的机理进行了探讨.     

Local amperometric detection of K+ in aqueous solution using scanning electrochemical microscopy ion-transfer voltammetry

A robust ultramicroelectrode (UME) probe is described for the amperometric determination of K⁺ ions in aqueous solution. The approach is based on ion-transfer voltammetry at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES), with a liquid ¦ liquid interface formed between a 1,2-dichloroethane solution, containing dibenzo-18-crown-6, in a glass capillary, which is placed in an aqueous K⁺ salt solution of interest (KCl in this study). The ITIES is externally polarised by applying a potential between silver electrodes in each phase. The UME probe has an inlaid disk geometry, making conventional ultramicroelectrode and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) mass transport models applicable. Limiting current measurements of K⁺ in aqueous solution show a linear dependence on KCl concentration between 1 × 10⁴ and 2.5 × 10³ mol dm³. The K⁺ microprobe is shown to be particularly suitable for use in SECM, for both approach curve and imaging applications.     

Simple electrochemical method for deposition and voltammetric inspection of silver particles at the liquid-liquid interface of a thin-film electrode

A novel experimental methodology for depositing and voltammetric study of Ag nanoparticles at the water-nitrobenzene (W-NB) interface is proposed by means of thin-film electrodes. The electrode assembly consists of a graphite electrode modified with a thin NB film containing decamethylferrocene (DMFC) as a redox probe. In contact with an aqueous electrolyte containing Ag(+) ions, a heterogeneous electron-transfer reaction between DMFC((NB)) and Ag(+)((W)) takes place to form DMFC(+)((NB)) and Ag deposit at the W-NB interface. Based on this interfacial reaction, two different deposition strategies have been applied. In the uncontrolled potential deposition protocol, the electrode is immersed into an AgNO(3) aqueous solution for a certain period under open circuit conditions. Following the deposition step, the Ag-modified thin-film electrode is transferred into an aqueous electrolyte free of Ag(+) ions and voltammetrically inspected. In the second protocol the deposition was carried out under controlled potential conditions, i.e., in an aqueous electrolyte solution containing Ag(+) ions by permanent cycling of the electrode potential. In this procedure, DMFC((NB)) is electrochemically regenerated at the electrode surface, hence enabling continuation and voltammetric control of the Ag deposition. Hence, the overall electrochemical process can be regarded as an electrochemical reduction of Ag(+)((W)) at the W-NB interface, where the redox couple DMFC(+)/DMFC acts as a mediator for shuttling electrons from the electrode to the W-NB interface. Ag-particles deposited at the W-NB interface affect the ion transfer across the interface, which provides the basis for voltammetric inspection of the metal deposit at the liquid-liquid interface with thin-film electrodes. Voltammetric properties of thin-film electrodes are particularly sensitive to the deposition procedure, reflecting differences in the properties of the Ag deposit. Moreover, this methodology is particularly suited to inspect catalytic activities of metal particles deposited at the liquid-liquid interface toward heterogeneous electron-transfer reactions occurring at the at the liquid-liquid interface.     

A comparative study of the anion transfer kinetics across a water/nitrobenzene interface by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and square-wave voltammetry at thin organic film-modified electrodes

The kinetics of the transfer of a series of hydrophilic monovalent anions across the water/nitrobenzene (W/NB) interface has been studied by means of thin organic film-modified electrodes in combination with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and square-wave voltammetry. The studied ions are Cl-, Br-, I-, ClO4-, NO3-, SCN-, and CH3COO-. The electrode assembly comprises a graphite electrode (GE) covered with a thin NB film containing a neutral strongly hydrophobic redox probe (decamethylferrocene or lutetium bis(tetra-tert-butylphthalocyaninato)) and an organic supporting electrolyte. The modified electrode is immersed in an aqueous solution containing a supporting electrolyte and transferring ions, and used in a conventional three-electrode configuration. Upon oxidation of the redox probe, the overall electrochemical process proceeds as an electron-ion charge-transfer reaction coupling the electron transfer at the GE/NB interface and compensates ion transfer across the W/NB interface. The rate of the ion transfer across the W/NB interface is the limiting step in the kinetics of the overall coupled electron-ion transfer reaction. Moreover, the transferring ion that is initially present in the aqueous phase only at a concentration lower than the redox probe, controls the mass transfer regime in the overall reaction. A rate equation describing the kinetics of the ion transfer that is valid for the conditions at thin organic film-modified electrodes is derived. Kinetic data measured with two electrochemical techniques are in very good agreement.     

Cyclic voltammetry of ion transfer across the polarized interface between the organic molten salt and the aqueous solution

A molten salt, or ionic liquid, composed of tetrahexylammonium bis(perfluoroethylsulfonyl)imide forms with an aqueous solution a polarized interface where the phase-boundary potential can be controlled externally. The available potential window of about 300 mV at 40 °C enables us to apply various electrochemical techniques for studying the structure and charge transfer reactions at the molten salt–water interface. Cyclic voltammetry of the transfer of moderately hydrophobic ions, such as 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium and hexafluorophosphate ions, across the interface exemplifies the potentiality of this new electrochemical interface. This new type of polarized interface would facilitates electrochemical studies of molten salt–water two-phase systems that have been studied as an environmentally benign alternative of organic solvent–water two-phase systems for liquid–liquid extraction and two-phase organic synthesis.     

Transfer of actinide ion at the interface between aqueous and nitrobenzene solutions studied by controlled-potential electrolysis at the interface

A novel electrochemical method based on controlled-potential electrolysis has been developed for the elucidation of the ion transfer at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES). A relationship between the applied interfacial potential (E_app) and the amount of the ion transferred (A_tr) was investigated after an electrolytic equilibrium was attained by controlled-potential electrolysis. The A_tr was determined chemically or radiometrically instead of by current measurement. It was found that (i) controlled-potential electrolysis was applicable to the study of the transfer of such hydrophilic ions as transition metal ions which gave no appreciable current within the potential window in voltammetry or polarography at ITIES, (ii) controlled-potential electrolysis in combination with a sensitive analytical method enabled a study of the transfer reaction of an ion of very dilute concentration, and (iii) even when the transfer reaction of an ion was irreversible or quasi-reversible, a standard ion transfer potential could be determined by controlled-potential electrolysis without using a kinetic parameter. The controlled-potential electrolysis method developed was applied to the transfer reactions of actinide ions such as UO₂ ²⁺ and Am³⁺ from aqueous solution to nitrobenzene solution in the absence or presence of an ionophore facilitating the transfer. The Gibbs energy for the transfer of actinide ion and a stability constant of the complex between an actinide ion and the ionophore in nitrobenzene solution were determined from log D versus E_app plots (D the ratio of the concentration of the ion in nitrobenzene solution to that in aqueous solution). The feasibility of controlled-potential electrolysis as a method for electrolytic separation of actinide ions is discussed.     

Calomel reference electrode in propylene carbonate

Measurements of the contact angle of an air bubble against thin films of silver iodide in an electrolyte solution have been made, using the captive bubble technique, as a function of pAg. The receding contact angle reached its maximum value at a pAg=5.4±0.2. This pAg value coincides closely with the isoelectric point of the silver iodide solution interface. A thermodynamic analysis is given which relates the variation of contact angle to the variation of concentration of potential determining ions and surface charge density.     

Catalytic Activity of Alkali Metal Cations for the Chemical Oxygen Reduction Reaction in a Biphasic Liquid System Probed by Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

Chemical reduction of dioxygen in organic solvents for the production of reactive oxygen species or the concomitant oxidation of organic substrates can be enhanced by the separation of products and educts in biphasic liquid systems. Here, the coupled electron and ion transfer processes is studied as well as reagent fluxes across the liquid|liquid interface for the chemical reduction of dioxygen by decamethylferrocene (DMFc) in a dichloroethane-based organic electrolyte forming an interface with an aqueous electrolyte containing alkali metal ions. This interface is stabilized at the orifice of a pipette, across which a Galvani potential difference is externally applied and precisely adjusted to enforce the transfer of different alkali metal ions from the aqueous to the organic electrolyte. The oxygen reduction is followed by H₂O₂ detection in the aqueous phase close to the interface by a microelectrode of a scanning electrochemical microscope (SECM). The results prove a strong catalytic effect of hydrated alkali metal ions on the formation rate of H₂O₂, which varies systematically with the acidity of the transferred alkali metal ions in the organic phase.     

应用扫描电化学显微镜研究极化液/液界面上的电子转移反应

将含有氧化还原电对的水溶液滴涂在铂盘电极表面, 然后将该电极插入到1,2-二氯乙烷溶液中, 形成稳定的油/水界面. 液滴中的K3Fe(CN)6和K4Fe(CN)6氧化还原电对既可以作为水相中的参比电对参与控制液/液界面上的电势差, 同时又可以作为水相的电子授受体参与界面上的电子转移反应. 结合扫描电化学显微镜电化学系统的特点, 利用其双恒电位仪分别控制界面电势差和现场扫描的优点, 通过扫描电化学显微镜的渐进曲线得到了不同界面电势差控制的电子转移反应速率常数. 实验结果表明, 应用此方法获得的液/液界面可以被外加电位极化, 在一定的电势差范围内, 反应速率常数与界面电势差的关系遵守Butler-Volmer公式.     

Specific Features of the Initial Stages of Oxidation of a Silver Electrode in Weakly Acidified Solutions of Sodium Fluoride

The behavior of a silver electrode, which is renewed in situ by mechanical cutting, in weakly acidified sodium fluoride solutions is studied with the aid of an impedance method and a method of cyclic voltammetry. The application of said procedures makes it possible to record time effects, which reflect the processes of electrochemical adsorption of oxygen at the interface between the silver electrode and the solution, in the potential region extending from −0.7 to 0.2 V (SCE). Approximate calculations of the effect of potential and the time of the electrode’s exposure (after its renewal) in contact with the electrolyte at given values of potential on the amount of adsorbed oxygen are performed on the basis of an analysis of the obtained experimental data. A comparison of the obtained results with the literature data makes it possible to put forth a substantiated opinion as to the reasons for the substantial difference in the intervals of potentials of ideal polarizability of the silver electrode/solution of a surface-inactive electrolyte system, which are presented in works of various authors.__________Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 7, 2005, pp. 857–865.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Safonov, Choba, Oshkin.     

Marangoni flow in micro-channels

A novel electrochemical method for driving fluids in micro-channels is presented. The principle is based upon the onset of Marangoni flow along the interface between an aqueous solution (mobile phase) and an organic electrolyte polymer gel coated on the inner walls of the micro-channel. The gradient of surface tension responsible for the fluid motion arises from local changes in the surface charge. The excess charge is determined by the ionisation of surfactant species at the gel coating|aqueous electrolyte interface which is effectively dependent on the Galvani potential difference. Potential differences of less than a volt between two closely spaced silver band electrodes along the micro-channel can generate zones of high and low surface tension, promoting the motion of the aqueous electrolyte.     

Electrochemical instability in the transfer of cationic surfactant across the 1,2-dichloroethane/water interface

The electrochemical instability has been shown to appear in the transfer of cationic surfactant ions across the 1,2-dichloroethane/water interface. Cyclic voltammograms possess all fundamental characteristics that are predicted by the theory of electrochemical instability: the presence of the instability window, that is, the potential range where the interface becomes unstable, the location of the instability window around the standard ion transfer potential of surface-active ions, and the dependence of the width of the instability window on the concentration of the surfactant ions. Electrocapillary measurements clearly demonstrate that the interface becomes unstable, while the interfacial tension is positive, being higher than 20 mN m(-1). The electrocapillary curve exhibits the discontinuities at both ends of the instability window, indicating the similarity between the electrochemical instability and the phase transitions induced by the temperature, pressure, and chemical potential. The results from voltammetry and interfacial tension measurements for cationic surfactants support the idea that the electrochemical instability, so far reported in the transfer of anionic surfactants across the liquid/liquid interface, is one of intrinsic properties of the two-phase systems where the partition of surface-active ions takes place.     

Growth of silver nanowires by an unconventional electrodeposition without template

We describe an unconventional electrochemistry approach to the preparation of silver nanowires. By the electrodeposition in the dilute solution without supporting electrolyte, silver nanowires with diameter 10–50 nm and length up to several μm have been synthesized. It was found that the absence of the supporting electrolyte played a key role in the formation of silver nanowires, and the products from the solution without supporting electrolytes were very different from those with supporting electrolytes. A possible mechanism concerning the transportation of silver ions by electro-migration and the diffusion was proposed.     

Relaxation of the electrical double layer after an electron transfer approached by Brownian dynamics simulation

In this paper, the dynamical properties of the electrochemical double layer following an electron transfer are investigated by using Brownian dynamics simulations. This work is motivated by recent developments in ultrafast cyclic voltammetry which allow nanosecond time scales to be reached. A simple model of an electrochemical cell is developed by considering a 1:1 supporting electrolyte between two parallel walls carrying opposite surface charges, representing the electrodes; the solution also contains two neutral solutes representing the electroactive species. Equilibrium Brownian dynamics simulations of this system are performed. To mimic electron transfer processes at the electrode, the charge of the electroactive species are suddenly changed, and the subsequent relaxation of the surrounding ionic atmosphere are followed, using nonequilibrium Brownian dynamics. The electrostatic potential created in the center of the electroactive species by other ions is found to have an exponential decay which allows the evaluation of a characteristic relaxation time. The influence of the surface charge and of the electrolyte concentration on this time is discussed, for several conditions that mirror the ones of classical electrochemical experiments. The computed relaxation time of the double layer in aqueous solutions is found in the range 0.1 to 0.4 ns for electrolyte concentrations between 0.1 and 1 mol L(-1) and surface charges between 0.032 and 0.128 C m(-2).     

A surface science approach to cathode/electrolyte interfaces in Li-ion batteries: Contact properties,charge transfer and reactions

Reactions and charge transfer at cathode/electrolyte interfaces affect the performance and the stability of Li-ion cells. Corrosion of active electrode material and decomposition of electrolyte are intimately coupled to charge transfer reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interfaces, which in turn depend on energy barriers for electrons and ions. Principally, energy barriers arise from energy level alignment at the interface and space charge layers near the interface, caused by changes of inner electric (Galvani) potential due to interfacial dipoles and concentration profiles of electronic and ionic charge carriers.In this contribution, we introduce our surface science oriented approach using photoemission (XPS, UPS) to investigate cathode/electrolyte interfaces in Li-ion batteries. After an overview of the processes at cathode/electrolyte interfaces as well as currently employed analysis methods, we present the fundamentals of contact potential formation and energy level alignment (electrons and ions) at interfaces and their analysis with photoemission. Subsequently, we demonstrate how interface analysis can be employed in Li-ion battery research, yielding new and valuable insights, and discuss future benefits.     

Voltammetry at a liquid–liquid interface supported on a metallic electrode

A liquid–liquid interface supported on a metallic electrode has been used to study ion transfer (IT) and electron transfer (ET) reactions by cyclic voltammetry. The system is composed of an aqueous droplet supported on a platinum disc electrode and immersed into an organic electrolyte solution. Depending on the nature of the dissolved species present in the aqueous solution, and in the organic electrolyte solution, different electrochemical coupled reactions can be observed. This method enables a fast and convenient method to measure standard transfer potentials for example of ionised drug molecules.     

Equilibrium lithium-ion transport between nanocrystalline lithium-inserted anatase TiO2 and the electrolyte

The power density of lithium-ion batteries requires the fast transfer of ions between the electrode and electrolyte. The achievable power density is directly related to the spontaneous equilibrium exchange of charged lithium ions across the electrolyte/electrode interface. Direct and unique characterization of this charge-transfer process is very difficult if not impossible, and consequently little is known about the solid/liquid ion transfer in lithium-ion-battery materials. Herein we report the direct observation by solid-state NMR spectroscopy of continuous lithium-ion exchange between the promising nanosized anatase TiO(2) electrode material and the electrolyte. Our results reveal that the energy barrier to charge transfer across the electrode/electrolyte interface is equal to or greater than the barrier to lithium-ion diffusion through the solid anatase matrix. The composition of the electrolyte and in turn the solid/electrolyte interface (SEI) has a significant effect on the electrolyte/electrode lithium-ion exchange; this suggests potential improvements in the power of batteries by optimizing the electrolyte composition.     

Kinetics of electrochemical reactions on the Ag(Hg)/Ag4RbI5 interface

The electrochemical behaviour of the Ag(Hg)/Ag₄RbI₅ interface is investigated by a potentiostatic pulse method. It is found that the rate-determining step of the electrode reaction is electron transfer with an exchange current density of 68 mA cm^–2 and a transfer coefficient of approximately 0.45. The order of the electrochemical reaction for silver oxidation is estimated from polarization investigations of silver amalgam in various concentrations. From this it is deduced that the mercury is ionized and is implanted in the electrolyte together with silver under anodic polarization: 15Ag+85Hg–100e^–→15Ag⁺+85Hg⁺. From comparison of the electrochemical behaviour of the Ag(Hg)/Ag₄RbI₅ and Ag/Ag₄RbI₅ interfaces it is concluded that the rate of anodic silver dissolution on the Ag/Ag₄RbI₅ interface is limited by crystallization effects. Electronic Publication