Thermodynamic aspects of capillarity and electrocapillarity of solid interfaces

Comment on "Surface elastic constants of a soft solid" by Q. Xu, R. W. Style and E. R. Dufresne, Soft Matter, 2018, 14, 916

The commented article represents one of the attempts to use the Shuttleworth equation for predicting surface stresses in a soft material. However, this led to the definition of surface stress in terms of the total surface energy instead of the density of this energy. This contradicts the theory of elasticity and is the result of mathematical defects made in the derivation of the above equation.

Some remarks to the derivation of the “generalized Lippmann equation”

In the present communication, an attempt is made to demonstrate (once again) some of the problems with the derivation of the “generalized Lippmann equation” considered to be valid by many researchers for solid electrodes and to address the problems in the framework of the Gibbs model of the interface by using only the basic principles of thermodynamics. By surveying the relevant literature, it has been shown that during the derivation of the equation, it was completely ignored that the Gibbs-Duhem equation (i.e., the electrocapillary equation) is a mathematical consequence which follows directly from the homogeneous degree one property of the corresponding thermodynamic potential function; consequently, the resulting expression cannot be correct. Some alternative approaches have also been considered. The adequacy of the open system and the partly closed system approach has been critically discussed, together with the possibility of introducing new thermodynamic potential functions.

Some Questionable Approaches in Interfacial Electrochemistry—The Charged State of Adsorbed Species and Their Involvement in Redox Processes

On the basis of a survey on the relevant literature it can be stated that some views and approaches concerning the charged state of adsorbed species and the charge transfer processes occurring with them are far from being unambiguous even in some respect they contradict fundamental physical and physicochemical principles. The meaning of the electrosorption valency, the misleading formulation of the Gibbs adsorption equation, and the interpretation of redox processes occurring with adsorbed species, is discussed in detail. It has been concluded that although the electrosorption valency of an adsorbed species as usually defined is an extra-thermodynamic and self-contradictory concept, experimental determined formal partial charge numbers can be a useful tool for scientists investigating adsorption phenomena, since the observed deviation between its value and the charge number of the same species in the solution phase unequivocally indicates a non-simple mechanism of the adsorption process, which should be taken into account in theoretical interpretation of the experimental data. It has been emphasized that the evaluation of voltammetric curves obtained in the presence of adsorbed redox partners requires a cautious analysis of the accompanying chemical transformations. In the framework of a critical analysis it is demonstrated that probably one of the most important sources of the misinterpretations and misunderstandings is the inadequate approach to the concept of electrode charge. The possibility of a general and straightforward presentation of the Gibbs adsorption equation has also been discussed.