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Electrical Double Layers

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Synonyms

Diffuse double layer

Definition

When a solid is in contact with an electrolyte, the chemical state of the surface is generally altered, either by ionization of covalently bound surface groups or by ion adsorption. As a result, the surface inherits a charge while counterions are released into the liquid. For example, common glass, SiOH, in the presence of H2O, ionizes to produce charged surface groups SiO and release a proton. At equilibrium, a balance between electrostatic interactions and thermal agitation generates a charge density profile. The liquid is electrically neutral except for a charged layer adjacent to the boundary, which bears a charge locally equal in amplitude and opposite in sign to the bound charge on the surface. This charged layer and the charged surface are together referred to as the electrical double layer (EDL).

Chemical and Physical Principles

It is well known that in contact with an aqueous solution, most solid surfaces tend to acquire a net positive...

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Correspondence to Suman Chakraborty .

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Chakraborty, S. (2014). Electrical Double Layers. In: Li, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27758-0_391-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27758-0_391-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27758-0

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