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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Generation and Control of Electrohydrodynamic Flows in Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions
Published on: September 7, 2018
Direct observation of a nonequilibrium electro-osmotic instability
S M Rubinstein1, G Manukyan, A Staicu
1Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel. robinst@bgu.ac.il
Abstract:
We present a visualization of the predicted instability in ionic conduction from a binary electrolyte into a charge selective solid. This instability develops when a voltage greater than critical is applied to a thin layer of copper sulfate flanked by a copper anode and a cation selective membrane. The current-voltage dependence exhibits a saturation at the limiting current. With a further increase of voltage, the current increases, marking the transition to the overlimiting conductance. This transition is mediated by the appearing vortical flow that increases with the applied voltage.
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