Demystifying the Stern layer at a metal–electrolyte interface: Local dielectric constant, specific ion adsorption, and partial charge transfer
Abstract
Electric double layer (EDL) represents one of the most basic concepts in electrochemistry and is pertinent to diverse engineering applications ranging from electrocatalysis to energy storage. Whereas phenomenological and coarse-grained models have been long established to describe ionic distributions in the diffuse layer, a faithful prediction of the physicochemical properties of the electrode–electrolyte interface from a molecular perspective remains a daunting challenge. In this work, we investigate the charging behavior of an Ag (111) electrode in NaF aqueous solutions leveraging experimental results and theoretical calculations based on the classical density functional theory for ion distributions in the diffuse layer and on the joint density functional theory (JDFT) for the electronic structure. When the Ag electrode is applied with a negative voltage, the surface charge density can be reasonably described by assuming a neutral Stern layer with the dielectric constant dependent on the local electric field as predicted by the Kirkwood equation. However, the specific adsorption of F− ions must be considered when the electrode is positively charged and the fluoride adsorption can be attributed to both physical and chemical interactions. Qualitatively, F− binding and partial charge transfer are supported by JDFT calculations, which predict an increased binding energy as themore »
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1772148
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Publisher's Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Chemical Physics
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Journal of Chemical Physics Journal Volume: 154 Journal Issue: 12; Journal ID: ISSN 0021-9606
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Citation Formats
Wang, Xuepeng, Liu, Kun, and Wu, Jianzhong. Demystifying the Stern layer at a metal–electrolyte interface: Local dielectric constant, specific ion adsorption, and partial charge transfer. United States: N. p., 2021.
Web. doi:10.1063/5.0043963.
Wang, Xuepeng, Liu, Kun, & Wu, Jianzhong. Demystifying the Stern layer at a metal–electrolyte interface: Local dielectric constant, specific ion adsorption, and partial charge transfer. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0043963
Wang, Xuepeng, Liu, Kun, and Wu, Jianzhong. Mon .
"Demystifying the Stern layer at a metal–electrolyte interface: Local dielectric constant, specific ion adsorption, and partial charge transfer". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0043963.
@article{osti_1772148,
title = {Demystifying the Stern layer at a metal–electrolyte interface: Local dielectric constant, specific ion adsorption, and partial charge transfer},
author = {Wang, Xuepeng and Liu, Kun and Wu, Jianzhong},
abstractNote = {Electric double layer (EDL) represents one of the most basic concepts in electrochemistry and is pertinent to diverse engineering applications ranging from electrocatalysis to energy storage. Whereas phenomenological and coarse-grained models have been long established to describe ionic distributions in the diffuse layer, a faithful prediction of the physicochemical properties of the electrode–electrolyte interface from a molecular perspective remains a daunting challenge. In this work, we investigate the charging behavior of an Ag (111) electrode in NaF aqueous solutions leveraging experimental results and theoretical calculations based on the classical density functional theory for ion distributions in the diffuse layer and on the joint density functional theory (JDFT) for the electronic structure. When the Ag electrode is applied with a negative voltage, the surface charge density can be reasonably described by assuming a neutral Stern layer with the dielectric constant dependent on the local electric field as predicted by the Kirkwood equation. However, the specific adsorption of F− ions must be considered when the electrode is positively charged and the fluoride adsorption can be attributed to both physical and chemical interactions. Qualitatively, F− binding and partial charge transfer are supported by JDFT calculations, which predict an increased binding energy as the voltage increases. Our findings shed insight on the molecular characteristics of the Stern layer and the charge behavior of adsorbed species not specified by conventional EDL models.},
doi = {10.1063/5.0043963},
journal = {Journal of Chemical Physics},
number = 12,
volume = 154,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Mar 22 00:00:00 EDT 2021},
month = {Mon Mar 22 00:00:00 EDT 2021}
}
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0043963
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