Nanobubbles

Gas nanobubbles formed at solid/liquid interfaces have received significant attention during the past decade due to their remarkable properties. We have developed an electrochemical approach for investigating the formation and properties of a single nanobubble of H₂ with a radius between 5 and 50 nm. To create a H₂ nanobubble, a Pt nanodisk electrode, shrouded in a glass sheath, is used to reduce H⁺ in a concentrated acid solution, creating a supersaturated solution of H₂ adjacent to the electrode surface. As the electrode potential is scanned towards negative potentials, the current arising from H₂ generation increases exponentially and then suddenly decreases to near background levels, signaling a liquid-to-gas phase transformation associated with the formation of a single nanobubble at the electrode surface. The nanobubble experiments reveal the nucleation mechanism of single nanobubble at the interface, as well as provide insight into the structure and chemical dynamics of electrochemical three-phase solid/liquid/gas boundaries

 

Selected Publications:

Effect of Non-Specific Ion Adsorption and Parallel Faradaic Reactions on the Nucleation of H₂ Nanobubbles
P. Majumdar, Y. Qiu and H. S. White
J. Electrochem. Soc. 2022  169 106515

Electroprecipitation of Nanometer-Thick Films of Ln(OH)₃ [Ln = La, Ce, and Lu] at Pt Microelectrodes and Their Effect on Electron-Transfer Reactions
P. Majumdar, R. Gao, and H. S. White
Langmuir 2022, 38, 26, 8125–8134

Effect of Nonuniform Mass Transport on Nanobubble Nucleation at Individual Pt Nanoparticles
N. S. Georgescu, D. A. Robinson, and H. S. White
J. Phys. Chem. C, 2021, 125, 36, 19724–19732

Visualization and Quantification of Electrochemical H₂ Bubble Nucleation at Pt, Au, and MoS₂ Substrates
Y. Liu, C. Jin, Y. Liu, K. H. Ruiz, H. Ren, Y. Fan, H. S. White, and Q. Chen
ACS Sens. 2021, 6, 2, 355–363

Electrochemical Generation of Individual Nanobubbles Comprising H₂, D₂, and HD
Y. Qiu, H. Ren, M. A. Edwards, R. Gao, K. Barman, and H. S. White
Langmuir, 2020, 36, 22, 6073–6078

Nitrogen Bubbles at Pt Nanoelectrodes in Non-Aqueous Medium-Oscillating Behavior and Geometry of Critical Nuclei
Q. Chen, Y. Liu, M. A. Edwards, Y. Liu, and H. S. White
Anal. Chem. 2020. 92, 9, 6408-6414

Electrochemically Controlled Nucleation of Single CO₂ Nanobubbles via Formate Oxidation at Pt Nanoelectrodes
H. Ren, M. A. Edwards, Y. Wang, H. S. White 
J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2020.11, 4, 1291-1296.

Voltammetric Determination of the Stochastic Formation Rate and Geometry of Individual H_2,N₂, and O₂Bubble Nuclei
M. A. Edwards, H. S. White, H. Ren
ACS Nano. 2019. 13, 6, 6330-6340

The Nucleation Rate of Single O₂ Nanobubbles at Pt Electrodes
Álvaro Moreno Soto, Sean R. German, Hang Ren, Devaraj van der Meer, Detlef Lohse, Martin A. Edwards, and Henry S. White
Langmuir, 2018, 34 (25), pp 7309–7318

Critical Nuclei Size, Rate, and Activation Energy of H₂ Gas Nucleation
Sean R. German, Martin A. Edwards, Hang Ren, and Henry S. White
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2018, 140 (11), pp 4047–4053

Electrochemical Generation of Individual O₂ Nanobubbles via H₂O₂ Oxidation
H. Ren, S. R. German, M. A. Edwards, Q. Chen, and H. S. White
J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2017, 8, 2450-2454.

The dynamic steady state of an electrochemically generated nanobubble
Y. Liu, M. A. Edwards, S. R. German, Q. Chen, and H. S. White
Langmuir,  2017, 33 (8), 1845–1853.

Laplace Pressure of Individual H₂ Nanobubbles from Pressure-Addition Electrochemistry
S. R. German, M. A. Edwards, Q. Chen, and H. S. White 
Nano Lett., 2016, 16 (10), 6691–6694.

Electrochemical Nucleation of Stable N₂ Nanobubbles at Pt Nanoelectrodes
Q. Chen, H. S. Wiedenroth, S. R. German, and H. S. White
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2015, 137 (37), 12064–12069.

Electrochemical generation of a hydrogen bubble at a recessed platinum nanopore electrode
Q. Chen, L. Luo, and H. S. White
Langmuir, 2015, 31(15), 4573-4581.

Electrochemical Measurements of Single H₂ Nanobubble Nucleation and Stability at Pt Nanoelectrodes
Q. Chen, L. Luo, H. Faraji, S. W. Feldberg, and H. S. White
J. Phys. Chem. Lett. , 2014, 5(20), 3539-3544.

Electrogeneration of Single Nanobubbles at Sub-50-nm-Radius Platinum Nanodisk Electrodes
L. Luo and H. S. White
Langmuir, 2013, 29(35), 11169-11175.