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Bernard O, Jardat M, Rotenberg B, Illien P. On analytical theories for conductivity and self-diffusion in concentrated electrolytes. J Chem Phys 2023; 159:164105. [PMID: 37873957 DOI: 10.1063/5.0165533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Describing analytically the transport properties of electrolytes, such as their conductivity or the self-diffusion of the ions, has been a central challenge of chemical physics for almost a century. In recent years, this question has regained some interest in light of Stochastic Density Field Theory (SDFT) - an analytical framework that allows the approximate determination of density correlations in fluctuating systems. In spite of the success of this theory to describe dilute electrolytes, its extension to concentrated solutions raises a number of technical difficulties, and requires simplified descriptions of the short-range repulsion between the ions. In this article, we discuss recent approximations that were proposed to compute the conductivity of electrolytes, in particular truncations of Coulomb interactions at short distances. We extend them to another observable (the self-diffusion coefficient of the ions) and compare them to earlier analytical approaches, such as the mean spherical approximation and mode-coupling theory. We show how the treatment of hydrodynamic effects in SDFT can be improved, that the choice of the modified Coulomb interactions significantly affects the determination of the properties of the electrolytes, and that comparison with other theories provides a guide to extend SDFT approaches in this context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Bernard
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire PHENIX (Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux), 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Marie Jardat
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire PHENIX (Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux), 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Benjamin Rotenberg
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire PHENIX (Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux), 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Pierre Illien
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire PHENIX (Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux), 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
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2
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Hoang Ngoc Minh T, Kim J, Pireddu G, Chubak I, Nair S, Rotenberg B. Electrical noise in electrolytes: a theoretical perspective. Faraday Discuss 2023; 246:198-224. [PMID: 37409620 DOI: 10.1039/d3fd00026e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Seemingly unrelated experiments such as electrolyte transport through nanotubes, nano-scale electrochemistry, NMR relaxometry and surface force balance measurements, all probe electrical fluctuations: of the electric current, the charge and polarization, the field gradient (for quadrupolar nuclei) and the coupled mass/charge densities. The fluctuations of such various observables arise from the same underlying microscopic dynamics of the ions and solvent molecules. In principle, the relevant length and time scales of these dynamics are encoded in the dynamic structure factors. However, modelling the latter for frequencies and wavevectors spanning many orders of magnitude remains a great challenge to interpret the experiments in terms of physical processes such as solvation dynamics, diffusion, electrostatic and hydrodynamic interactions between ions, interactions with solid surfaces, etc. Here, we highlight the central role of the charge-charge dynamic structure factor in the fluctuations of electrical observables in electrolytes and offer a unifying perspective over a variety of complementary experiments. We further analyze this quantity in the special case of an aqueous NaCl electrolyte, using simulations with explicit ions and an explicit or implicit solvent. We discuss the ability of the standard Poisson-Nernst-Planck theory to capture the simulation results, and how the predictions can be improved. We finally discuss the contributions of ions and water to the total charge fluctuations. This work illustrates an ongoing effort towards a comprehensive understanding of electrical fluctuations in bulk and confined electrolytes, in order to enable experimentalists to decipher the microscopic properties encoded in the measured electrical noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thê Hoang Ngoc Minh
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physicochimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, F-75005 Paris, France.
| | - Jeongmin Kim
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physicochimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, F-75005 Paris, France.
| | - Giovanni Pireddu
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physicochimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, F-75005 Paris, France.
| | - Iurii Chubak
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physicochimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, F-75005 Paris, France.
| | - Swetha Nair
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physicochimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, F-75005 Paris, France.
| | - Benjamin Rotenberg
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physicochimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, F-75005 Paris, France.
- Réseau sur le Stockage Electrochimique de l'Energie (RS2E), FR CNRS 3459, 80039 Amiens Cedex, France
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3
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Hoang Ngoc Minh T, Rotenberg B, Marbach S. Ionic fluctuations in finite volumes: fractional noise and hyperuniformity. Faraday Discuss 2023; 246:225-250. [PMID: 37565454 DOI: 10.1039/d3fd00031a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Observing finite regions of a bigger system is a common aim, from microscopy to molecular simulations. In the latter especially, there is ongoing interest in predicting thermodynamic properties from tracking fluctuations in finite observation volumes. However, kinetic properties have received little attention, especially not in ionic solutions, where electrostatic interactions play a decisive role. Here, we probe ionic fluctuations in finite volumes with Brownian dynamics and build an analytical framework that reproduces our simulation results and is broadly applicable to other systems with pairwise interactions. Particle number and charge correlations exhibit a rich phenomenology with time, characterized by a diversity of timescales. The noise spectrum of both quantities decays as 1/f3/2, where f is the frequency. This signature of fractional noise shows the universality of 1/f3/2 scalings when observing diffusing particles in finite domains. The hyperuniform behaviour of charge fluctuations, namely that correlations scale with the area of the observation volume, is preserved in time. Correlations even become proportional to the box perimeter at sufficiently long times. Our results pave the way to understand fluctuations in more complex systems, from nanopores to single-particle electrochemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thê Hoang Ngoc Minh
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physicochimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Benjamin Rotenberg
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physicochimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, F-75005 Paris, France
- Réseau sur le Stockage Electrochimique de l'Energie (RS2E), FR CNRS 3459, 80039 Amiens Cedex, France
| | - Sophie Marbach
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physicochimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, F-75005 Paris, France
- Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, NY, 10012, USA.
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4
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Poggioli AR, Limmer DT. Odd Mobility of a Passive Tracer in a Chiral Active Fluid. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:158201. [PMID: 37115888 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.158201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Chiral active fluids break both time-reversal and parity symmetry, leading to exotic transport phenomena unobservable in ordinary passive fluids. We develop a generalized Green-Kubo relation for the anomalous lift experienced by a passive tracer suspended in a two-dimensional chiral active fluid subjected to an applied force. This anomalous lift is characterized by a transport coefficient termed the odd mobility. We validate our generalized response theory using molecular dynamics simulations, and we show that the asymmetric tracer mobility may be understood mechanically in terms of asymmetric deformations of the tracer-fluid density distribution function. We show that the even and odd components of the mobility decay at different rates with tracer size, suggesting the possibility of size-based particle separation using a chiral active working fluid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony R Poggioli
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - David T Limmer
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Chemical Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
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Hoang Ngoc Minh T, Stoltz G, Rotenberg B. Frequency and field-dependent response of confined electrolytes from Brownian dynamics simulations. J Chem Phys 2023; 158:104103. [PMID: 36922117 DOI: 10.1063/5.0139258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Using Brownian dynamics simulations, we investigate the effects of confinement, adsorption on surfaces, and ion-ion interactions on the response of confined electrolyte solutions to oscillating electric fields in the direction perpendicular to the confining walls. Nonequilibrium simulations allows to characterize the transitions between linear and nonlinear regimes when varying the magnitude and frequency of the applied field, but the linear response, characterized by the frequency-dependent conductivity, is more efficiently predicted from the equilibrium current fluctuations. To that end, we (rederive and) use the Green-Kubo relation appropriate for overdamped dynamics, which differs from the standard one for Newtonian or underdamped Langevin dynamics. This expression highlights the contributions of the underlying Brownian fluctuations and of the interactions of the particles between them and with external potentials. Although already known in the literature, this relation has rarely been used to date, beyond the static limit to determine the effective diffusion coefficient or the DC conductivity. The frequency-dependent conductivity always decays from a bulk-like behavior at high frequency to a vanishing conductivity at low frequency due to the confinement of the charge carriers by the walls. We discuss the characteristic features of the crossover between the two regimes, most importantly how the crossover frequency depends on the confining distance and the salt concentration, and the fact that adsorption on the walls may lead to significant changes both at high and low frequencies. Conversely, our results illustrate the possibility to obtain information on diffusion between walls, charge relaxation, and adsorption by analyzing the frequency-dependent conductivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thê Hoang Ngoc Minh
- CNRS, Physicochimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, Sorbonne Université, F-75005 Paris, France
| | | | - Benjamin Rotenberg
- CNRS, Physicochimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, Sorbonne Université, F-75005 Paris, France
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Pireddu G, Rotenberg B. Frequency-Dependent Impedance of Nanocapacitors from Electrode Charge Fluctuations as a Probe of Electrolyte Dynamics. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:098001. [PMID: 36930930 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.098001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The frequency-dependent impedance is a fundamental property of electrical components. We show that it can be determined from the equilibrium dynamical fluctuations of the electrode charge in constant-potential molecular simulations, extending in particular a fluctuation-dissipation relation for the capacitance recovered in the low-frequency limit and provide an illustration on water-gold nanocapacitors. This Letter opens the way to the interpretation of electrochemical impedance measurements in terms of microscopic mechanisms, directly from the dynamics of the electrolyte, or indirectly via equivalent circuit models as in experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Pireddu
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physico-chimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, PHENIX, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Benjamin Rotenberg
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physico-chimie des Électrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, PHENIX, F-75005 Paris, France
- Réseau sur le Stockage Electrochimique de l'Energie (RS2E), FR CNRS 3459, 80039 Amiens Cedex, France
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7
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Avni Y, Andelman D, Orland H. Conductance of concentrated electrolytes: Multivalency and the Wien effect. J Chem Phys 2022; 157:154502. [PMID: 36272780 DOI: 10.1063/5.0111645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The electric conductivity of ionic solutions is well understood at low ionic concentrations of up to a few millimolar but becomes difficult to unravel at higher concentrations that are still common in nature and technological applications. A model for the conductivity at high concentrations was recently put forth for monovalent electrolytes at low electric fields. The model relies on applying a stochastic density-functional theory and using a modified electrostatic pair-potential that suppresses unphysical, short-range electrostatic interactions. Here, we extend the theory to multivalent ions as well as to high electric fields where a deviation from Ohm's law known as the Wien effect occurs. Our results are in good agreement with experiments and recent simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yael Avni
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - David Andelman
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Henri Orland
- Institut de Physique Théorique, Université de Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
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Lesnicki D, Gao CY, Limmer DT, Rotenberg B. On the molecular correlations that result in field-dependent conductivities in electrolyte solutions. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:014507. [PMID: 34241409 DOI: 10.1063/5.0052860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Employing recent advances in response theory and nonequilibrium ensemble reweighting, we study the dynamic and static correlations that give rise to an electric field-dependent ionic conductivity in electrolyte solutions. We consider solutions modeled with both implicit and explicit solvents, with different dielectric properties, and at multiple concentrations. Implicit solvent models at low concentrations and small dielectric constants exhibit strongly field-dependent conductivities. We compare these results to Onsager-Wilson theory of the Wien effect, which provides a qualitatively consistent prediction at low concentrations and high static dielectric constants but is inconsistent away from these regimes. The origin of the discrepancy is found to be increased ion correlations under these conditions. Explicit solvent effects act to suppress nonlinear responses, yielding a weakly field-dependent conductivity over the range of physically realizable field strengths. By decomposing the relevant time correlation functions, we find that the insensitivity of the conductivity to the field results from the persistent frictional forces on the ions from the solvent. Our findings illustrate the utility of nonequilibrium response theory in rationalizing nonlinear transport behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominika Lesnicki
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physico-Chimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, Paris, France
| | - Chloe Y Gao
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - David T Limmer
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Benjamin Rotenberg
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Physico-Chimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, Paris, France
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Marbach S. Intrinsic fractional noise in nanopores: The effect of reservoirs. J Chem Phys 2021; 154:171101. [PMID: 34241056 DOI: 10.1063/5.0047380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluctuations affect nanoporous transport in complex and intricate ways, making optimization of the signal-to-noise ratio in artificial designs challenging. Here, we focus on the simplest nanopore system, where non-interacting particles diffuse through a pore separating reservoirs. We find that the concentration difference between both sides (akin to the osmotic pressure drop) exhibits fractional noise in time t with mean square average that grows as t1/2. This originates from the diffusive exchange of particles from one region to another. We fully rationalize this effect, with particle simulations and analytic solutions. We further infer the parameters (pore radius and pore thickness) that control this exotic behavior. As a consequence, we show that the number of particles within the pore also exhibits fractional noise. Such fractional noise is responsible for noise spectral density scaling as 1/f3/2 with frequency f, and we quantify its amplitude. Our theoretical approach is applicable to more complex nanoporous systems (for example, with adsorption within the pore) and drastically simplifies both particle simulations and analytic calculus.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Marbach
- Courant Institute for Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, 10012, USA and CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux, F-75005 Paris, France
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