Liquid flow reversibly creates a macroscopic surface charge gradient

Patrick Ober, Willem Q. Boon, Marjolein Dijkstra, Ellen H. G. Backus, René Roij () and Mischa Bonn ()
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Patrick Ober: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
Willem Q. Boon: Utrecht University
Marjolein Dijkstra: Utrecht University
Ellen H. G. Backus: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
René Roij: Utrecht University
Mischa Bonn: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract The charging and dissolution of mineral surfaces in contact with flowing liquids are ubiquitous in nature, as most minerals in water spontaneously acquire charge and dissolve. Mineral dissolution has been studied extensively under equilibrium conditions, even though non-equilibrium phenomena are pervasive and substantially affect the mineral-water interface. Here we demonstrate using interface-specific spectroscopy that liquid flow along a calcium fluoride surface creates a reversible spatial charge gradient, with decreasing surface charge downstream of the flow. The surface charge gradient can be quantitatively accounted for by a reaction-diffusion-advection model, which reveals that the charge gradient results from a delicate interplay between diffusion, advection, dissolution, and desorption/adsorption. The underlying mechanism is expected to be valid for a wide variety of systems, including groundwater flows in nature and microfluidic systems.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24270-x

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