Adsorption of large ions from an electrolyte solution: A modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation

I. Borukhov*, D. Andelman, H. Orland

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

279 Scopus citations

Abstract

The behavior of electrolyte solutions close to a charged surface is studied theoretically. A modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation that takes into account the volume excluded by the ions in addition to the electrostatic interactions is presented. In a formal lattice gas formalism the modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation can be obtained from a mean-field approximation of the partition function. In an alternative phenomenological approach, the same equation can be derived by including the entropy of the solvent molecules in the free energy. In order to visualize the effect of steric repulsion, a simple case of a single, highly charged, flat surface is discussed. This situation resembles recent adsorption experiments of large ions onto a charged monolayer. A simple criterion for the importance of the steric effects is expressed in terms of the surface charge density and the size of the ions. It is shown that when these effects are important a saturated layer is formed near the surface. A modified Grahame equation relating the ion concentration at the surface to the surface charge density is obtained.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)221-229
Number of pages9
JournalElectrochimica Acta
Volume46
Issue number2-3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Nov 2000

Funding

FundersFunder number
Sackler Institute of Solid State Physics
United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation98-00429
Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Israel Science Foundation
Tel Aviv University

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Adsorption of large ions from an electrolyte solution: A modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this