Murielle Delley is probing the effects of electrolyte cations on electric field and surface reactivity

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C has published a paper titled “Electrolyte Cation Effects on Interfacial Acidity and Electric Fields” lead-authored by Branco Weiss Fellow Murielle Delley. Electrolyte cation identity can have large effects on electrocatalysis by influencing the interfacial electric field, structure, or local pH. However, the specific role(s) of cations is not clear. In their study, Murielle Delley and her co-authors probed electrolyte cation effects on interfacial acidity and electric fields by a spectro-electrochemical approach. The paper shows that varying cation identity and the applied potential together can shift interfacial acid/base equilibria by more than three orders of magnitude and substantially change the interfacial potential distribution and electric field. The insights presented in this paper on electrolyte cation effects on the interfacial structure, proton transfer, and electric field are of fundamental interest for a range of electrochemical applications.

Read the paper in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C