Event
Chemical Society Seminar: - Adam Willard - Using simulation to study molecular scale potential fluctuations in the electric double-layer
Tuesday, February 14, 2023 13:00to14:30
Maass Chemistry Building
Room 10, 801 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC, H3A 0B8, CA
Abstract:
The electric double-layer forms at the interface between an electrode and an electrolyte solution and sets the stage for a wide range of microscopic electrochemical processes. The structure of the double-layer is typically described using continuum level models, such as those derived from the pioneering efforts of Gouy, Chapman, and Stern. While continuum-based models provide an efficient and intuitive framework for studying and understanding the macroscopic behavior of electrochemical systems, they are inappropriate for modeling the time and length scales inherent to individual electrochemical reactions. Over these scales - generally nanoseconds and nanometers - the discrete molecular nature of the electrolyte is apparent. In this seminar, I will present results of theory and simulation that explore the profile of the electrostatic potential near an electrified interface and how this profile fluctuates both in and out of equilibrium.
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Bio:
Adam Willard is an associate professor of chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a theoretical chemist that specializes in the study and application of statistical mechanics. His research interests include the study of water鈥檚 hydrogen bonding network at protein interfaces, excited electronic dynamics in disordered molecular systems, and the microscopic properties of driven electrochemical interfaces.