Photonics / Fotonik
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/2590
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Article Citation - WoS: 32Citation - Scopus: 31Wien Effect in Interfacial Water Dissociation Through Proton-Permeable Graphene Electrodes(Nature Research, 2022) Cai, Junhao; Griffin, Eoin; Guarochico-Moreira, Victor H.; Barry, D.; Xin, B.; Yağmurcukardeş, Mehmet; Zhang, Sheng; Geim, Andre K.; Peeters, François M.; Lozada-Hidalgo, MarceloStrong electric fields can accelerate molecular dissociation reactions. The phenomenon known as the Wien effect was previously observed using high-voltage electrolysis cells that produced fields of about 107 V m−1, sufficient to accelerate the dissociation of weakly bound molecules (e.g., organics and weak electrolytes). The observation of the Wien effect for the common case of water dissociation (H2O ⇆ H+ + OH−) has remained elusive. Here we study the dissociation of interfacial water adjacent to proton-permeable graphene electrodes and observe strong acceleration of the reaction in fields reaching above 108 V m−1. The use of graphene electrodes allows measuring the proton currents arising exclusively from the dissociation of interfacial water, while the electric field driving the reaction is monitored through the carrier density induced in graphene by the same field. The observed exponential increase in proton currents is in quantitative agreement with Onsager’s theory. Our results also demonstrate that graphene electrodes can be valuable for the investigation of various interfacial phenomena involving proton transport.Article Citation - WoS: 62Citation - Scopus: 59Exponentially Selective Molecular Sieving Through Angstrom Pores(Nature Publishing Group, 2021) Sun, Pengzhan; Yağmurcukardeş, Mehmet; Zhang, R.; Kuang, Wenjun; Lozada-Hidalgo, Marcelo; Liu, B. L.; Geim, Andre K.Two-dimensional crystals with angstrom-scale pores are widely considered as candidates for a next generation of molecular separation technologies aiming to provide extreme, exponentially large selectivity combined with high flow rates. No such pores have been demonstrated experimentally. Here we study gas transport through individual graphene pores created by low intensity exposure to low kV electrons. Helium and hydrogen permeate easily through these pores whereas larger species such as xenon and methane are practically blocked. Permeating gases experience activation barriers that increase quadratically with molecules’ kinetic diameter, and the effective diameter of the created pores is estimated as ∼2 angstroms, about one missing carbon ring. Our work reveals stringent conditions for achieving the long sought-after exponential selectivity using porous two-dimensional membranes and suggests limits on their possible performance.