Proton transfer to charged platinum electrodes. A molecular dynamics trajectory study

Structure evolution at the gate-tunable suspended graphene-water interface

Graphitic electrode is commonly used in electrochemical reactions owing to its excellent in-plane conductivity, structural robustness and cost efficiency1,2. It serves as prime electrocatalyst support as well as a layered intercalation matrix2,3, with wide applications in energy conversion and storage1,4. Being the two-dimensional building block of graphite, graphene shares similar chemical properties with graphite1,2, and its unique physical and chemical properties offer more varieties and tunability for developing state-of-the-art graphitic devices5-7. Hence it serves as an ideal platform to investigate the microscopic structure and reaction kinetics at the graphitic-electrode interfaces. Unfortunately, graphene is susceptible to various extrinsic factors, such as substrate effect8-10, causing much confusion and controversy7,8,10,11. Hereby we have obtained centimetre-sized substrate-free monolayer graphene suspended on aqueous electrolyte surface with gate tunability. Using sum-frequency spectroscopy, here we show the structural evolution versus the gate voltage at the graphene-water interface. The hydrogen-bond network of water in the Stern layer is barely changed within the water-electrolysis window but undergoes notable change when switching on the electrochemical reactions. The dangling O-H bond protruding at the graphene-water interface disappears at the onset of the hydrogen evolution reaction, signifying a marked structural change on the topmost layer owing to excess intermediate species next to the electrode. The large-size suspended pristine graphene offers a new platform to unravel the microscopic processes at the graphitic-electrode interfaces.

Microscopic dynamics of charge separation at the aqueous electrochemical interface

We have used molecular simulation and methods of importance sampling to study the thermodynamics and kinetics of ionic charge separation at a liquid water-metal interface. We have considered this process using canonical examples of two different classes of ions: a simple alkali-halide pair, Na⁺I^-, or classical ions, and the products of water autoionization, H₃O⁺OH^-, or water ions. We find that for both ion classes, the microscopic mechanism of charge separation, including water's collective role in the process, is conserved between the bulk liquid and the electrode interface. However, the thermodynamic and kinetic details of the process differ between these two environments in a way that depends on ion type. In the case of the classical ion pairs, a higher free-energy barrier to charge separation and a smaller flux over that barrier at the interface result in a rate of dissociation that is 40 times slower relative to the bulk. For water ions, a slightly higher free-energy barrier is offset by a higher flux over the barrier from longer lived hydrogen-bonding patterns at the interface, resulting in a rate of association that is similar both at and away from the interface. We find that these differences in rates and stabilities of charge separation are due to the altered ability of water to solvate and reorganize in the vicinity of the metal interface.

Water at Interfaces

The interfaces of neat water and aqueous solutions play a prominent role in many technological processes and in the environment. Examples of aqueous interfaces are ultrathin water films that cover most hydrophilic surfaces under ambient relative humidities, the liquid/solid interface which drives many electrochemical reactions, and the liquid/vapor interface, which governs the uptake and release of trace gases by the oceans and cloud droplets. In this article we review some of the recent experimental and theoretical advances in our knowledge of the properties of aqueous interfaces and discuss open questions and gaps in our understanding.

Double layer effects in a model of proton discharge on charged electrodes

We report first results on double layer effects on proton discharge reactions from aqueous solutions to charged platinum electrodes. We have extended a recently developed combined proton transfer/proton discharge model on the basis of empirical valence bond theory to include specifically adsorbed sodium cations and chloride anions. For each of four studied systems 800-1000 trajectories of a discharging proton were integrated by molecular dynamics simulations until discharge occurred. The results show significant influences of ion presence on the average behavior of protons prior to the discharge event. Rationalization of the observed behavior cannot be based solely on the electrochemical potential (or surface charge) but needs to resort to the molecular details of the double layer structure.