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Updated: Oct 27, 2025

AC Electrokinetic Phenomena Generated by Microelectrode Structures
Published on: July 28, 2008
Electrification of water interface
1Department of Physics, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.
Abstract:
The surface charge of a water interface determines many fundamental processes in physical chemistry and interface science, and it has been intensively studied for over a hundred years. We summarize experimental methods to characterize the surface charge densities developed so far: electrokinetics, double-layer force measurements, potentiometric titration, surface-sensitive nonlinear spectroscopy, and surface-sensitive mass spectrometry. Then, we elucidate physical ion adsorption and chemical electrification as examples of electrification mechanisms. In the end, novel effects on surface electrification are discussed in detail. We believe that this clear overview of state of the art in a charged water interface will surely help the fundamental progress of physics and chemistry at interfaces in the future.
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