ELECTRODE/ELECTROLYTE INTERFACES: STRUCTURE AND KINETICS OF CHARGE TRANSFER

Abstract

When a metal is partly immersed in an electrolyte, a potential is set up across the two phases, i.e., at the electrode/electrolyte interface. The phases may be solids (metals or alloys, semiconductors, insulators), liquids (ionic liquids, molten salts, neutral solutions), or gases (polar or non polar). The more common terminology in electrochemistry is that a double layer is set up at the interface. There are several reasons for a potential difference being set up across the interface of two phases, the most common one being the charge transfer occurring across the interface. During this process, a charge separation will occur because of electron transfer across the interface.