Options
Electronic screening using a virtual Thomas–Fermi fluid for predicting wetting and phase transitions of ionic liquids at metal surfaces
Publikationstyp
Journal Article
Date Issued
2022-02-01
Sprache
English
Author(s)
Journal
Volume
21
Issue
2
Start Page
237
End Page
245
Citation
Nature Materials 21 (2): 237-245 (2022)
Publisher DOI
Scopus ID
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Of relevance to energy storage, electrochemistry and catalysis, ionic and dipolar liquids display unexpected behaviours—especially in confinement. Beyond adsorption, over-screening and crowding effects, experiments have highlighted novel phenomena, such as unconventional screening and the impact of the electronic nature—metallic versus insulating—of the confining surface. Such behaviours, which challenge existing frameworks, highlight the need for tools to fully embrace the properties of confined liquids. Here we introduce a novel approach that involves electronic screening while capturing molecular aspects of interfacial fluids. Although available strategies consider perfect metal or insulator surfaces, we build on the Thomas–Fermi formalism to develop an effective approach that deals with any imperfect metal between these asymptotes. Our approach describes electrostatic interactions within the metal through a ‘virtual’ Thomas–Fermi fluid of charged particles, whose Debye length sets the screening length λ. We show that this method captures the electrostatic interaction decay and electrochemical behaviour on varying λ. By applying this strategy to an ionic liquid, we unveil a wetting transition on switching from insulating to metallic conditions.
DDC Class
620: Engineering