Impact of Bubbles on Electrochemically Active Surface Area of Microtextured Gas-Evolving Electrodes

Competitive growth kinetics of coexisting hydrogen bubbles on Ni electrodes: role of bubble nucleation density

The coverage of hydrogen bubbles decreases the active area of electrodes, resulting in reduced electrochemical performance. However, bubble growth locally decreases hydrogen concentration, thereby mitigating concentration overpotential. This dual effect highlights the significance of investigating the effect of bubbles on hydrogen removal in electrode design. Since hydrogen removal primarily occurs via molecular transport across bubble interfaces (which drives bubble growth), we analyzed the multi-bubble growth kinetics (R = αt β ) on Ni electrodes with varying roughness to compare the hydrogen removal effect at the bubble interface. For a low-roughness (LR-surface) electrode, bubble growth follows conventional time coefficients (β) close to 0.5, indicating that the bubbles were in an H2-saturated environment, where the entire bubble interface participated in hydrogen removal. The elevated bubble density on a medium-roughness (MR-surface) electrode provides additional bubble interfaces for hydrogen removal, reducing hydrogen concentration (α decrease from 93.91 to 63.11). The time coefficient of bubble growth remained at 0.5, confirming that the increased bubble interface was also in the hydrogen-saturated condition. In contrast, on a high-roughness (HR-surface) electrode, the competition of excessive coexisting bubbles for hydrogen molecules leads to the narrowing of the H2-saturated region, and the top of the bubble is in the H2-unsaturated region, indicating that not all of the additional bubble interface is involved in the hydrogen removal, which is manifested as the decrease in the time coefficient (β decrease from 0.5 to 0.42). Based on the experimental results, we conclude that the hydrogen removal effect does not increase linearly with increasing numbers of coexisting bubbles on the electrode. The transition in bubble growth kinetics reflects the varying degree of bubble interface involvement in hydrogen removal, which may serve as a consideration for designing the density of bubble nucleation sites on electrodes.

Unveiling micro- and nanoscale bubble dynamics for enhanced electrochemical water splitting

Bubbles generated during electrochemical and photoelectrochemical water splitting critically influence efficiency through complex factors, including chemical reactions, species transport, mass transfer at the three-phase interface, and bubble coverage. A detailed understanding of the nucleation, growth, coalescence, and detachment of micro- and nanoscale bubbles is vital for advancing water splitting technologies. Surface-attached bubbles significantly reduce the electrocatalytically active area of electrodes, leading to increased surface overpotential at a given current density. Consequently, their effective removal is pivotal for optimizing the electrolysis process. However, the intricate interplay among single bubble evolution, mass transport, bubble coverage, and overpotential remain inadequately understood. This review explores the fundamental mechanisms underpinning bubble evolution, with an emphasis on the Marangoni effect and its influence on bubble dynamics. Furthermore, recent advancements in understanding individual bubbles on micro and nano-electrodes are highlighted, offering valuable insights into scale-dependent bubble behavior. These findings enrich our knowledge of gas-liquid interfacial phenomena and underscore their industrial significance, presenting opportunities to enhance water splitting performance through optimized bubble dynamics.

Strain-Modulated Deposition Mechanism on a Flexible Zinc Anode

Flexible aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are considered one of the most attractive flexible devices owing to their high theoretical capacity, low cost, and high security. However, the formation of Zn dendrites and the poor flexibility of the Zn material greatly impede the application of wearable AZIBs. Herein, by transferring graphene onto the surface of polyethylene terephthalate-indium tin oxide (PET-ITO-G), a substrate combining excellent flexibility and dendrite suppression ability was prepared. Meanwhile, a quantitative in situ strain application system was proposed to investigate the electrochemical and morphological characteristics of flexible Zn anode interface. The plating/stripping performance of the Zn|PET-ITO-G flexible device was demonstrated under various strains. Subsequent analysis indicated that the origin of its high stability under static bending strain came from the formation of densely packed Zn (101) upon cycling. In addition, PET-ITO-G could quickly recover to Zn (002) after the strain was relieved. A failure model of strain-modulated Zn deposition was proposed based on the formation of surface cracks and distorted surface current distribution. This work identified the main factors that constrained the long cycling life of a flexible metal anode and provided a feasible approach for a systematic study on the influence of in situ strain on flexible batteries.

Elucidating the Effect of the Catalyst Layer Morphology on the Growth and Detachment of Bubbles in Water Electrolysis via Lattice Boltzmann Modeling

The performance of water electrolysis is profoundly influenced by the behavior of the gas bubbles generated at the electrode surface. In order to improve the efficiency of bubble transportation, various nanostructures for the catalyst layer (CL), such as nanorods (NRs) or nanoparticles (NPs), have been proposed. However, there is still a lack of complete understanding about the relationship between the catalyst layer morphology and bubble evolution, which has a considerable impact on bubble transport. This study examines the effect of the catalyst layer morphology on the growth and detachment of bubbles in water electrolysis by employing the Lattice Boltzmann (LB) model. The performance of three different catalyst layer morphologies, namely, nanorods, nanoparticles, and hierarchical nanostructures, on bubble dynamics is estimated. The results suggest that the catalyst layer morphology is characterized by two factors: the bubble contact area and the electrochemically active surface area, which varies the bubble diameter, detachment time, and, subsequently, the bubble coverage. As a result, the energy efficiency of water electrolysis is influenced, aligned with experimental data that show a voltage differential of 148 mV at a current density of 0.65 A/cm2. This study highlights the significance of improving the structure of the catalyst layer to boost the efficiency of water electrolysis systems.

Machine learning-guided discovery of gas evolving electrode bubble inactivation

The adverse effects of electrochemical bubbles on the performance of gas-evolving electrodes are well known, but studies on the degree of adhered bubble-caused inactivation, and how inactivation changes during bubble evolution are limited. We study electrode inactivation caused by oxygen evolution while using surface engineering to control bubble formation. We find that the inactivation of the entire projected area, as is currently believed, is a poor approximation which leads to non-physical results. Using a machine learning-based image-based bubble detection method to analyze large quantities of experimental data, we show that bubble impacts are small for surface engineered electrodes which promote high bubble projected areas while maintaining low direct bubble contact. We thus propose a simple methodology for more accurately estimating the true extent of bubble inactivation, which is closer to the area which is directly in contact with the bubbles.

Gas Evolution in Water Electrolysis

Gas bubbles generated by the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction during water electrolysis influence the energy conversion efficiency of hydrogen production. Here, we survey what is known about the interaction of gas bubbles and electrode surfaces and the influence of gas evolution on practicable devices used for water electrolysis. We outline the physical processes occurring during the life cycle of a bubble, summarize techniques used to characterize gas evolution phenomena in situ and in practical device environments, and discuss ways that electrodes can be tailored to facilitate gas removal at high current densities. Lastly, we review efforts to model the behavior of individual gas bubbles and multiphase flows produced at gas-evolving electrodes. We conclude our review with a short summary of outstanding questions that could be answered by future efforts to characterize gas evolution in electrochemical device environments or by improved simulations of multiphase flows.

Bridging Innovations of Phase Change Heat Transfer to Electrochemical Gas Evolution Reactions

Bubbles play a ubiquitous role in electrochemical gas evolution reactions. However, a mechanistic understanding of how bubbles affect the energy efficiency of electrochemical processes remains limited to date, impeding effective approaches to further boost the performance of gas evolution systems. From a perspective of the analogy between heat and mass transfer, bubbles in electrochemical gas evolution reactions exhibit highly similar dynamic behaviors to them in the liquid-vapor phase change. Recent developments of liquid-vapor phase change systems have substantially advanced the fundamental knowledge of bubbles, leading to unprecedented enhancement of heat transfer performance. In this Review, we aim to elucidate a promising opportunity of understanding bubble dynamics in electrochemical gas evolution reactions through a lens of phase change heat transfer. We first provide a background about key parallels between electrochemical gas evolution reactions and phase change heat transfer. Then, we discuss bubble dynamics in gas evolution systems across multiple length scales, with an emphasis on exciting research problems inspired by new insights gained from liquid-vapor phase change systems. Lastly, we review advances in engineered surfaces for manipulating bubbles to enhance heat and mass transfer, providing an outlook on the design of high-performance gas evolving electrodes.

Three-Dimensional Metallic Surface Micropatterning through Tailored Photolithography-Transfer-Plating

Precise micropatterning on three-dimensional (3D) surfaces is desired for a variety of applications, from microelectronics to metamaterials, which can be realized by transfer printing techniques. However, a nontrivial deficiency of this approach is that the transferred microstructures are adsorbed on the target surface with weak adhesion, limiting the applications to external force-free conditions. We propose a scalable "photolithography-transfer-plating" method to pattern stable and durable microstructures on 3D metallic surfaces with precise dimension and location control of the micropatterns. Surface patterning on metallic parts with different metals and isotropic and anisotropic curvatures is showcased. This method can also fabricate hierarchical structures with nanoscale vertical and microscale horizontal dimensions. The plated patterns are stable enough to mold soft materials, and the structure durability is validated by 24 h thermofluidic tests. We demonstrate micropatterned nickel electrodes for oxygen evolution reaction acceleration in hydrogen production, showing the potential of micropatterned 3D metallic surfaces for energy applications.

Roles of Wettability and Wickability on Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Reactions

Bubble dynamics significantly impact mass transfer and energy conversion in electrochemical gas evolution reactions. Micro-/nanostructured surfaces with extreme wettability have been employed as gas-evolving electrodes to promote bubble departure and decrease the bubble-induced overpotential. However, effects of the electrodes' wickability on the electrochemical reaction performances remain elusive. In this work, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performances are experimentally investigated using micropillar array electrodes with varying interpillar spacings, and effects of the electrodes' wettability, wickability as well as bubble adhesion are discussed. A deep learning-based object detection model was used to obtain bubble counts and bubble departure size distributions. We show that microstructures on the electrode have little effect on the total bubble counts and bubble size distribution characteristics at low current densities. At high current densities, however, micropillar array electrodes have much higher total bubble counts and smaller bubble departure sizes compared with the flat electrode. We also demonstrate that surface wettability is a critical factor influencing HER performances under low current densities, where bubbles exist in an isolated regime. Under high current densities, where bubbles are in an interacting regime, the wickability of the micropillar array electrodes emerges as a determining factor. This work elucidates the roles of surface wettability and wickability on enhancing electrochemical performances, providing guidelines for the optimal design of micro-/nanostructured electrodes in various gas evolution reactions.

Performance Enhancement of Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution through Coalescence-Induced Bubble Dynamics

The evolution of electrogenerated gas bubbles during water electrolysis can significantly hamper the overall process efficiency. Promoting the departure of electrochemically generated bubbles during (water) electrolysis is therefore beneficial. For a single bubble, a departure from the electrode surface occurs when buoyancy wins over the downward-acting forces (e.g., contact, Marangoni, and electric forces). In this work, the dynamics of a pair of H2 bubbles produced during the hydrogen evolution reaction in 0.5 M H2SO4 using a dual platinum microelectrode system is systematically studied by varying the electrode distance and the cathodic potential. By combining high-speed imaging and electrochemical analysis, we demonstrate the importance of bubble-bubble interactions in the departure process. We show that bubble coalescence may lead to substantially earlier bubble departure as compared to buoyancy effects alone, resulting in considerably higher reaction rates at a constant potential. However, due to continued mass input and conservation of momentum, repeated coalescence events with bubbles close to the electrode may drive departed bubbles back to the surface beyond a critical current, which increases with the electrode spacing. The latter leads to the resumption of bubble growth near the electrode surface, followed by buoyancy-driven departure. While less favorable at small electrode spacing, this configuration proves to be very beneficial at larger separations, increasing the mean current up to 2.4 times compared to a single electrode under the conditions explored in this study.

Superaerophilic/Superaerophobic NiFe-LDHs Electrode for Enhancing Overall Water Splitting in Alkaline Media

Overall water splitting, as a critical approach to producing green hydrogen, is greatly impeded by the mass transfer of gaseous bubbles and dissolved gas molecules. Herein, a bifunctional superaerophilic/superaerophobic (SAL/SAB) NiFe layered-double-hydroxides (LDHs) electrode has been developed, which can drive H2 and O2 bubbles out of the reaction system by asymmetric Laplace pressure and accelerate dissolved gases diffusion through reducing their diffusion distance. Consequently, the SAL/SAB NiFe-LDHs electrode exhibits excellent HER activity with an overpotential of -76 mV at -10 mA cm-2 and outstanding oxygen evolution reaction activity with an overpotential of 253 mV at 100 mA cm-2. The bifunctional SAL/SAB NiFe-LDHs electrode is further utilized in overall water splitting, which can achieve 10 mA cm-2 with a cell voltage of 1.54 V. This work provides an efficient strategy to improve the efficiency of overall water splitting and can stimulate new electrode design in various gas-involved processes.

Ion-Specific Bubble Coalescence Dynamics in Electrolyte Solutions

Bubble coalescence time scale is important in applications such as froth flotation, food and pharmaceutical industries, and two-phase thermal management. The time scale of coalescence is sensitive to the dissolved ions. In this study, we investigate the evolution of a thin electrolyte film between a bubble and a hydrophilic substrate during coalescence. We present a thin-film equation-based numerical model that accounts for the dependence of the surface tension gradient and electric double layer (EDL) on the concentration of ions at the air-liquid interface. The influence of Marangoni stresses and the EDL on the hydrodynamics of drainage determines the coalescence time scale. We show that the electrolytes, such as NaCl, Na2SO4, and NaI retard coalescence, in contrast to HCl and HNO3 that have little effect on the coalescence time scale. We also show that the drainage of the electrolyte films with higher concentrations is retarded due to increased Marangoni stresses at the air-water interface. The slow drainage triggers an early formation of the dimple in the thin film, thus trapping more fluid within, which further decreases the drainage rate. For a hydrophilic substrate, EDL along with van der Waals for a given concentration governs the final dynamics of thin films, eventually resulting in a stable thin layer of the electrolyte between the bubble and the substrate. The stabilizing thickness reduces by an order of magnitude as the NaCl concentration increases from 0.01 to 10 mM. For Na2SO4 solution, the film is stabilized at a smaller thickness due to higher valency cations resulting in higher screening of the EDL repulsion.

Bubbles in Porous Electrodes for Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Porous electrodes with high specific surface areas have been commonly employed for alkaline water electrolysis. The gas bubbles generated in electrodes due to water electrolysis, however, can screen the reaction sites and hinder reactant transport, thereby deteriorating the performance of electrodes. Hence, an in-depth understanding of the behavior of bubbles in porous electrodes is of great importance. Nevertheless, since porous electrodes are opaque, direct observation of bubbles therein is still a challenge. In this work, we have successfully captured the behavior of bubbles in the pores at the side surfaces of nickel-based porous electrodes. Two types of porous electrodes are employed: the ones with straight pores along the gravitational direction and the ones with tortuous pores. In the porous electrodes with tortuous pores, the moving bubbles are prone to collide with the solid matrix, thereby leading to the accumulation of bubbles in the pores and hence bubble trapping. By contrast, in the porous electrodes with straight pores, bubbles are seldom trapped; and when two bubbles near the wall surfaces coalesce, the merged bubble can jump away from the wall surfaces, releasing more active surfaces for reaction. As a result, the porous electrodes with straight pores, although with lower specific surface areas, are superior to those with tortuous pores. The relationship among the pore structures of porous electrodes, bubble behavior, and electrode performance disclosed in this work provides deep insights into the design of porous electrodes.

Hydrogen Bubble Size Distribution on Nanostructured Ni Surfaces: Electrochemically Active Surface Area Versus Wettability

Emerging manufacturing technologies make it possible to design the morphology of electrocatalysts on the nanoscale in order to improve their efficiency in electrolysis processes. The current work investigates the effects of electrode-attached hydrogen bubbles on the performance of electrodes depending on their surface morphology and wettability. Ni-based electrocatalysts with hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanostructures are manufactured by electrodeposition, and their surface properties are characterized. Despite a considerably larger electrochemically active surface area, electrochemical analysis reveals that the samples with more pronounced hydrophobic properties perform worse at industrially relevant current densities. High-speed imaging shows significantly larger bubble detachment radii with higher hydrophobicity, meaning that the electrode surface area that is blocked by gas is larger than the area gained by nanostructuring. Furthermore, a slight tendency toward bubble size reduction of 7.5% with an increase in the current density is observed in 1 M KOH.

Three-Tier Hierarchical Structures for Extreme Pool Boiling Heat Transfer Performance

Boiling is an effective energy-transfer process with substantial utility in energy applications. Boiling performance is described mainly by the heat-transfer coefficient (HTC) and critical heat flux (CHF). Recent efforts for the simultaneous enhancement of HTC and CHF have been limited by an intrinsic trade-off between them-HTC enhancement requires high nucleation-site density, which can increase bubble coalescence resulting in limited CHF enhancement. In this work, this trade-off is overcome by designing three-tier hierarchical structures. The bubble coalescence is minimized to enhance the CHF by defining nucleation sites with microcavities interspersed within hemi-wicking structures. Meanwhile, the reduced nucleation-site density is compensated for by incorporating nanostructures that promote evaporation for HTC enhancement. The hierarchical structures demonstrate the simultaneous enhancement of HTC and CHF up to 389% and 138%, respectively, compared to a smooth surface. This extreme boiling performance can lead to significant energy savings in a variety of boiling applications.

Single-Entity Electrochemistry of Nano- and Microbubbles in Electrolytic Gas Evolution

Gas bubbles are found in diverse electrochemical processes, ranging from electrolytic water splitting to chlor-alkali electrolysis, as well as photoelectrochemical processes. Understanding the intricate influence of bubble evolution on the electrode processes and mass transport is key to the rational design of efficient devices for electrolytic energy conversion and thus requires precise measurement and analysis of individual gas bubbles. In this Perspective, we review the latest advances in single-entity measurement of gas bubbles on electrodes, covering the approaches of voltammetric and galvanostatic studies based on nanoelectrodes, probing bubble evolution using scanning probe electrochemistry with spatial information, and monitoring the transient nature of nanobubble formation and dynamics with opto-electrochemical imaging. We emphasize the intrinsic and quantitative physicochemical interpretation of single gas bubbles from electrochemical data, highlighting the fundamental understanding of the heterogeneous nucleation, dynamic state of the three-phase boundary, and the correlation between electrolytic bubble dynamics and nanocatalyst activities. In addition, a brief discussion of future perspectives is presented.

On the growth regimes of hydrogen bubbles at microelectrodes

Beside classical growth (regime I), depending on potential and concentration, new growth regimes of hydrogen bubbles were found. These differ with respect to the existence of a carpet of microbubbles underneath and of current oscillations.