Packed by the Surface: Relating Surface Structure and Solvation Properties at Solid/Water Interfaces

Abstract

At an electrode, water molecules align to the surface field upon voltage application.

This initiates important electrochemical reactions, e.g., hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. Recently developed non-linear optical techniques challenge the traditional picture by quantifying a lack of water alignment at metal electrodes. We here provide theoretical and experimental evidences for the existence of a driving force that opposes water alignment to the surface field. Such driving force originates from the ordering templated by the metal surface on the physisorbed water layer, and scales with surface hydrophilicity. We hence propose a physical model for water alignment at electrodes based on a balance of H-bond network and surface field driving forces, which reconciles the traditional picture with the new experimental observations.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{jassar2026packed,
  title = {{Packed by the Surface: Relating Surface Structure and Solvation Properties at Solid/Water Interfaces}},
  author = {Mohammed Bin Jassar and Simone Pezzotti},
  journal = {Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  doi = {10.1021/acs.jctc.6c00421},
  url = {https://hal.science/hal-05741897v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Packed by the Surface: Relating Surface Structure and Solvation Properties at Solid/Water Interfaces
AU  - Mohammed Bin Jassar
AU  - Simone Pezzotti
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/01
JO  - Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
DO  - 10.1021/acs.jctc.6c00421
UR  - https://hal.science/hal-05741897v1
AB  - At an electrode, water molecules align to the surface field upon voltage application.  This initiates important electrochemical reactions, e.g., hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. Recently developed non-linear optical techniques challenge the traditional picture by quantifying a lack of water alignment at metal electrodes. We here provide theoretical and experimental evidences for the existence of a driving force that opposes water alignment to the surface field. Such driving force originates from the ordering templated by the metal surface on the physisorbed water layer, and scales with surface hydrophilicity. We hence propose a physical model for water alignment at electrodes based on a balance of H-bond network and surface field driving forces, which reconciles the traditional picture with the new experimental observations.
SN  - 1549-9618
SN  - 1549-9626
ER  -

Abstract

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