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The corona of a surface bubble promotes electrochemical reactions

Author

Listed:
  • Yan B. Vogel

    (Curtin University)

  • Cameron W. Evans

    (The University of Western Australia)

  • Mattia Belotti

    (Curtin University)

  • Longkun Xu

    (Australian National University)

  • Isabella C. Russell

    (Australian National University)

  • Li-Juan Yu

    (Australian National University)

  • Alfred K. K. Fung

    (Australian National University)

  • Nicholas S. Hill

    (Australian National University)

  • Nadim Darwish

    (Curtin University)

  • Vinicius R. Gonçales

    (University of New South Wales)

  • Michelle L. Coote

    (Australian National University)

  • K. Swaminathan Iyer

    (The University of Western Australia)

  • Simone Ciampi

    (Curtin University)

Abstract

The evolution of gaseous products is a feature common to several electrochemical processes, often resulting in bubbles adhering to the electrode’s surface. Adherent bubbles reduce the electrode active area, and are therefore generally treated as electrochemically inert entities. Here, we show that this general assumption does not hold for gas bubbles masking anodes operating in water. By means of imaging electrochemiluminescent systems, and by studying the anisotropy of polymer growth around bubbles, we demonstrate that gas cavities adhering to an electrode surface initiate the oxidation of water-soluble species more effectively than electrode areas free of bubbles. The corona of a bubble accumulates hydroxide anions, unbalanced by cations, a phenomenon which causes the oxidation of hydroxide ions to hydroxyl radicals to occur at potentials at least 0.7 V below redox tabled values. The downhill shift of the hydroxide oxidation at the corona of the bubble is likely to be a general mechanism involved in the initiation of heterogeneous electrochemical reactions in water, and could be harnessed in chemical synthesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Yan B. Vogel & Cameron W. Evans & Mattia Belotti & Longkun Xu & Isabella C. Russell & Li-Juan Yu & Alfred K. K. Fung & Nicholas S. Hill & Nadim Darwish & Vinicius R. Gonçales & Michelle L. Coote & K. , 2020. "The corona of a surface bubble promotes electrochemical reactions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-20186-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20186-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Ruijuan Zhao & Lei Li & Qianbao Wu & Wei Luo & Qiu Zhang & Chunhua Cui, 2024. "Spontaneous formation of reactive redox radical species at the interface of gas diffusion electrode," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Joseph P. Heindel & R. Allen LaCour & Teresa Head-Gordon, 2024. "The role of charge in microdroplet redox chemistry," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Ruijie Xie & Kaiheng Guo & Yong Li & Yingguang Zhang & Huanran Zhong & Dennis Y. C. Leung & Haibao Huang, 2024. "Harnessing air-water interface to generate interfacial ROS for ultrafast environmental remediation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.

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