Avalanche transfer of charged particles across the electrochemical liquid|liquid interface

Emulsion particles formed in the vicinity of the interface between nitrobenzene (NB) and water (W) pass through the interface concurrently, resulting in current spikes on current versus potential and current versus time curves. The fact that the spikes appear only in the limited range of the phase boundary potential suggests the importance of the electrostatic interaction between charged particles and the polarized NB∣W interface. Even in the potential range where the transfer of emulsions is favored, the transfer occurs only intermittently. Each current spike reflects the transfer of an accumulation of emulsion particles that were dammed up in the vicinity of the interface, which resembles an avalanche.