Electrolytically Generated Nanobubbles on HOPG Surfaces

Electrolysis of water is employed to produce surface nanobubbles on highly orientated pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surfaces. Hydrogen (oxygen) nanobubbles are formed when the HOPG surface acts as negative (positive) electrode. Coverage and volume of the nanobubbles enhance with increasing voltage. The yield of hydrogen nanobubbles is much larger than the yield of oxygen nanobubbles. The growth of the individual nanobubbles during the electrolysis process is recorded in time with the help of AFM measurements and correlated with the total current. Both the size of the individual nanobubbles and the total current saturate after typical 1 minute; then the nanobubbles are in a dynamic equilibrium, meaning that they do not further grow, in spite of ongoing gas production and nonzero current. The surface area of nanobubbles shows a good correlation with the nanobubble volume growth rate, suggesting that either the electrolytic gas emerges directly at the nanobubbles' surface, or it emerges at the electrode's surface and then diffuses through the nanobubbles' surface. Moreover, the experiments reveal that the time constants of the current and the aspect ratio of nanobubbles are the same under all conditions. Replacement of pure water by water containing a small amount of sodium chloride (0.01 M) allows for larger currents, but qualitatively gives the same results.Comment: Langmuir, in pres

Characterization of Nanobubbles on Hydrophobic Surfaces in Water

The aim of this paper is to quantitatively characterize the appearance, stability, density, and shape of surface nanobubbles on hydrophobic surfaces under varying conditions such as temperature and temperature variation, gas type and concentration, surfactants, and surface treatment. The method we adopt is atomic force microscopy (AFM) operated in the tapping mode. In particular, we show (i) that nanobubbles can slide along grooves under the influence of the AFM tip, (ii) that nanobubbles can spontaneously form by substrate heating, allowing for a comparison of the surface topology with and without the nanobubble, (iii) that a water temperature increase leads to a drastic increase in the nanobubble density, (iv) that pressurizing the water with CO2 also leads to a larger nanobubble density, but typically to smaller nanobubbles, (v) that alcohol-cleaning of the surface is crucial for the formation of surface nanobubbles, (vi) that adding 2-butanol as surfactant leads to considerably smaller surface nanobubbles, and (vii) that flushing water over alcohol-covered surfaces strongly enhances the formation of surface nanobubbles

Oppervlakte nanobelletjes: een groot raadsel

Op de wand van een bekerglas gevuld met kraanwater zullen na enige tijd luchtbelletjes verschijnen. Een alledaags fenomeen waar weinig mensen vreemd van opkijken. Maar sinds enige jaren zijn er extreem kleine luchtbellen op oppervlakken gevonden die wetenschappers voor een groot raadsel plaatsen. Het gaat om stabiele luchtbelletjes met een straal van nog geen micrometer: oppervlakte nanobellen