Water-induced correlation between single ions imaged at the solid–liquid interface

Ricci, M.; Spijker, P.; Voïtchovsky, K.

doi:10.1038/ncomms5400

Water-induced correlation between single ions imaged at the solid–liquid interface

Ricci, M.; Spijker, P.; Voïtchovsky, K.

Authors

M. Ricci

P. Spijker

Professor Kislon Voitchovsky kislon.voitchovsky@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

When immersed into water, most solids develop a surface charge, which is neutralized by an accumulation of dissolved counterions at the interface. Although the density distribution of counterions perpendicular to the interface obeys well-established theories, little is known about counterions’ lateral organization at the surface of the solid. Here we show, by using atomic force microscopy and computer simulations, that single hydrated metal ions can spontaneously form ordered structures at the surface of homogeneous solids in aqueous solutions. The structures are laterally stabilized only by water molecules with no need for specific interactions between the surface and the ions. The mechanism, studied here for several systems, is controlled by the hydration landscape of both the surface and the adsorbed ions. The existence of discrete ion domains could play an important role in interfacial phenomena such as charge transfer, crystal growth, nanoscale self-assembly and colloidal stability.

Citation

Ricci, M., Spijker, P., & Voïtchovsky, K. (2014). Water-induced correlation between single ions imaged at the solid–liquid interface. Nature Communications, 5, Article 4400. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms5400

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jun 13, 2014
Online Publication Date	Jul 16, 2014
Publication Date	Jul 16, 2014
Deposit Date	Aug 15, 2014
Publicly Available Date	Aug 15, 2014
Journal	Nature Communications
Publisher	Nature Research
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	5
Article Number	4400
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms5400