2016 Volume 51 Issue 2 Pages 83-87
Recent development of frequency modulation (FM-) AFM operated in liquid environment enables one to analyze “interfacial liquid structure” in addition to high resolution imaging of the interfacial solid. Using electrochemical FM-AFM we developed in 2010, we have succeeded in analyzing electric double layer (EDL) structures whose local structure varied depending on the applied electrode potential. In this personal account, we focus on the analyses of the EDL at electrolyte aqueous solution / graphite interfaces. It was revealed that a hydrogen-bonding network at the interface greatly perturbed by accumulated anions at anodic potentials (enhanced or disturbed). Besides, such a change in the EDL structure changes the assembly and the redox activity of the adsorbed molecules. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulations of the EDL structure are presented to achieve the molecular scale understanding of such interfacial phenomena.
