Double layer space-charge regions

According to the model proposed by Verwey and Niessen (1939), an electric double layer is formed at an ITIES, which consists of two ionic space charge regions. As a whole the electric double layer is electrically neutral, so for the excess charge density in the part of the double layer in the aqueous phase, and for the part in the organic phase,... 

To evaluate the contribution of the SHG active oriented cation complexes to the ISE potential, the SHG responses were analyzed on the basis of a space-charge model [30,31]. This model, which was proposed to explain the permselectivity behavior of electrically neutral ionophore-based liquid membranes, assumes that a space charge region exists at the membrane boundary the primary function of lipophilic ionophores is to solubilize cations in the boundary region of the membrane, whereas hydrophilic counteranions are excluded from the membrane phase. Theoretical treatments of this model reported so far were essentially based on the assumption of a double-diffuse layer at the organic-aqueous solution interface and used a description of the diffuse double layer based on the classical Gouy-Chapman theory [31,34]. 

The basic difference between metal-electrolyte and semiconductor-electrolyte interfaces lies primarily in the fact that the concentration of charge carriers is very low in semiconductors (see Section 2.4.1). For this reason and also because the permittivity of a semiconductor is limited, the semiconductor part of the electrical double layer at the semiconductor-electrolyte interface has a marked diffuse character with Debye lengths of the order of 10 4-10 6cm. This layer is termed the space charge region in solid-state physics. 

At a semiconductor-electrolyte interface, if there is no specific interaction between the charge species and the surface an electrical double layer will form with a diffuse space-charge region on the semiconductor side and a plate-like counter ionic charge on the electrolyte side resulting in a potential difference (j) across the interface. The total potential difference across the interface can be given by... 

Fig. 3. The structure of electrical double layer at a semiconductor-electrolyte interface (a) and the distribution of the potential (b) and charge (c) at the interface. The electrode is charged negatively. is the space-charge region thickness, La is the Helmholtz layer thickness, Qlc and Qtl are the charge of the semiconductor and ionic plates of the double layer, respectively (for further notations see the text).

In this chapter the structure of the electrolyte double layer, and the consequences of adsorption on the electrode surface, are described. The effect of differences in structure and electronic distribution of different metals are indicated. The space-charge region in semiconductors is then discussed. Finally some properties of colloids are mentioned, given that they possess an interfacial region very similar to an electrode. 

As shown in the Figure, electro capillary curves are affected by - specific adsorption of ions (here, anions) at the electrode surface. Additionally, they are influenced by the - space charge region of the electrical double layer. Thus, electrocapillary curves as well as capacitance curves provide useful information on the electrical double-layer structure of electrode surfaces. 

At oxide semiconductor electrode-electrolyte interfaces, with no contribution from surface states, the electrical potential drop exhibits three components the potential drop across the space-charge region, sc, across the Helmholtz layer, diffuse double layer, d, the latter becoming negligible in concentrated electrolytes... 

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