Gas is evolved in many important electrocatalytic processes reactions involved in energy conversion and storage, including H2 and O2 production from water electrolysis and N2 and CO2 generation in fuel cells. Formation of gas bubbles on electrode surfaces can block the transport of reactants to the electrode surface, creating an additional overpotential and lowering efficiency. Understanding the physical processes that lead to the formation of bubbles on electrode surfaces is therefore of significant interest. By driving gas-evolving reactions at nanoelectrodes one can measure the creation of single bubbles. Nanoelectrodes deliver superior temporal resolution (&lt;1 ms) to measurements at larger electrodes, while the simplified system provides a clearer picture of the dynamics of bubble formation when compared to ensemble nucleation measurements. In this talk, I will describe measurements of the stochastic formation of individual H2, O2, N2, and CO2 bubbles. From these measurements, I will derive key parameters of bubble nucleation, including the geometry and energetics of the nucleus.

Electrochemistry of individual nanobubbles

256th National Meeting (2018)

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