Electroconvective Instability in Water Electrolysis: An Evaluation of Electroconvective Patterns and Their Onset Features

Nakul Pande, Jeffery A. Wood, Guido Mul, Detlef Lohse, Bastian T. Mei, and Dominik Krug
Phys. Rev. Applied 16, 034021 – Published 10 September 2021
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Abstract

In electrochemical systems, an understanding of the underlying transport processes is required to aid in their better design. This includes knowledge of possible near-electrode convective mixing that can enhance measured currents. Here, for a binary acidic electrolyte in contact with a platinum electrode, we provide evidence of electroconvective instability during electrocatalytic proton reduction. The current-voltage characteristics indicate that electroconvection, visualized with a fluorescent dye, drives current densities larger than the diffusion transport limit. The onset and transition times of the instability do not follow the expected inverse-square dependence on the current density, but, above a bulk-reaction-limited current density, are delayed by the water dissociation reaction, that is, the formation of H+ and OH ions. The dominant size of the electroconvective patterns is also measured and found to vary with the diffusion length scale, confirming previous predictions on the size of electroconvective vortices.

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  • Received 21 January 2021
  • Revised 22 June 2021
  • Accepted 2 August 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.16.034021

© 2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Fluid Dynamics

Authors & Affiliations

Nakul Pande1,2,*, Jeffery A. Wood3, Guido Mul2, Detlef Lohse1, Bastian T. Mei2, and Dominik Krug1,†

  • 1Physics of Fluids, University of Twente, 7500AE Enschede, Netherlands
  • 2PhotoCatalytic Synthesis, University of Twente, 7500AE Enschede, Netherlands
  • 3Soft matter, Fluidics and Interfaces, University of Twente, 7500AE Enschede, Netherlands

  • *n.pande@utwente.nl
  • d.j.krug@utwente.nl

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Issue

Vol. 16, Iss. 3 — September 2021

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