EPFL researchers have developed an optical imaging tool to visualize surface chemistry in real time. They imaged the interfacial chemistry in the microscopically confined geometry of a simple glass micro-capillary. The glass is covered with hydroxyl (-OH) groups that can lose a proton – a much-studied chemical reaction that is important in geology, chemistry and technology. A 100-micron long capillary displayed a remarkable spread in surface OH bond dissociation constant of a factor of a billion. The research has been published in Science.
EPFL researchers have developed an optical imaging tool to visualize surface chemistry in real time. They imaged the interfacial chemistry in the microscopically confined geometry of a simple glass micro-capillary. The glass is covered with hydroxyl (-OH) groups that can lose a proton – a much-studied chemical reaction that is important in geology, chemistry and technology. A 100-micron long capillary displayed a remarkable spread in surface OH bond dissociation constant of a factor of a billion. The research has been published in Science.
Geological, catalytic, biological and chemical processes are driven by surface chemical heterogeneities, electrostatic fields and flow. To understand these processes and to enable the further development of new materials and microtechnology, researchers at EPFL’s Laboratory for Fundamental BioPhotonics (LBP) have designed a microscope that can track, in real time, three-dimensional spatial changes in the molecular structure and chemistry of confined systems, such as curved surfaces and pores. The microscope was used to image the surface chemical structure of the inside of a glass microcapillary. Surface potential maps were constructed from the millisecond images, and the chemical reaction constant of each 188nm-wide pixel was determined. Surprisingly, this very simple system – which is used in many devices – displayed a remarkable spread in surface heterogeneity. The researchers’ findings have been published in Science. Their method will be a boon for understanding fundamental (electro)chemical, geological and catalytic processes and for building new devices.
Read more at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Image Credit: ©EPFL / Alain Herzog
