Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Intermolecular Forces03:13

Intermolecular Forces

58.7K
Atoms and molecules interact through bonds (or forces): intramolecular and intermolecular. The forces are electrostatic as they arise from interactions (attractive or repulsive) between charged species (permanent, partial, or temporary charges) and exist with varying strengths between ions, polar, nonpolar, and neutral molecules. The different types of intermolecular forces are ion–dipole, dipole–dipole, hydrogen bonds, and dispersion; among these, dipole–dipole, hydrogen...
58.7K
Continuous Charge Distributions01:17

Continuous Charge Distributions

6.9K
Imagine a bucket of water. It contains many molecules, of the order of 1026 molecules. Thus, although it contains discrete elements (molecules) at the microscopic level, macroscopically, it can be considered continuous. Small volume elements of water, infinitesimal compared to the bulk of the bucket's volume, still contain many molecules. Under this framework, quantized matter is approximated as continuous for practical purposes.
The electric charge can also be subjected to an analogical...
6.9K
Van der Waals Interactions01:24

Van der Waals Interactions

64.1K
Atoms and molecules interact with each other through intermolecular forces. These electrostatic forces arise from attractive or repulsive interactions between particles with permanent, partial, or temporary charges. The intermolecular forces between neutral atoms and molecules are ion–dipole, dipole–dipole, and dispersion forces, collectively known as van der Waals forces.
64.1K
Aqueous Solutions and Heats of Hydration02:42

Aqueous Solutions and Heats of Hydration

14.8K
Water and other polar molecules are attracted to ions. The electrostatic attraction between an ion and a molecule with a dipole is called an ion-dipole attraction. These attractions play an important role in the dissolution of ionic compounds in water.
When ionic compounds dissolve in water, the ions in the solid separate and disperse uniformly throughout the solution because water molecules surround and solvate the ions, reducing the strong electrostatic forces between them. This process...
14.8K
Potential Due to a Polarized Object01:29

Potential Due to a Polarized Object

438
A neutral atom consists of a positively charged nucleus surrounded by a negatively charged electron cloud. When placed in an external electric field, the external electric force pulls the electrons and nucleus apart, opposite to the intrinsic attraction between the nucleus and the electrons. The opposing forces balance each other with a slight shift between the center of masses of the nucleus and the electron cloud, resulting in a polarized atom. On the other hand, a few molecules, like water,...
438
Energy Associated With a Charge Distribution01:21

Energy Associated With a Charge Distribution

1.6K
The work done to bring a charge through a distance r is given by the potential difference between the initial and the final position. To assemble a collection of point charges, the total work done can be expressed in terms of the product of each pair of charges divided by their separation distance, defined with respect to a suitable origin. Solving this expression gives the energy stored in a point charge distribution.
1.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Bioinspired Electrostatic-Field Perturbated Sensing for General Material Noncontact Perception.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026
Same author

Triboelectric Spectroscopy for In Situ Detection of Gas Molecules in Liquid.

ACS nano·2026
Same author

Atomically confined insertion for 2D strain and polarization engineered GaN electronics.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Ultrathin Magnesium-Ion Selective COF Membranes for Efficient Osmotic Power and Iontronic Logic Control.

Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)·2026
Same author

Probing contact electrification processes from interfacial charge transfer to bulk transport in semicrystalline polymers.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Quantifying the Triboelectric Series of Liquid Phase Materials.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026
Same journal

Chemotactic self-organization captures the dynamics of mammalian hair follicle patterning.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Tomographic imaging of superconducting order using particle-hole interference.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Inhibitory potential of autologous neutralizing antibodies sets quantitative limits on the rebound-competent HIV-1 reservoir.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Inferring epidemiological parameters under an infectious phylogeography model with visitor dynamics.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Analytical modeling for suction cup designs for skin-interfaced wearable devices.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Improving cell-free metabolism through direct integration of artificial respiratory chains.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 22, 2025

Taking Advantage of Reduced Droplet-surface Interaction to Optimize Transport of Bioanalytes in Digital Microfluidics
07:57

Taking Advantage of Reduced Droplet-surface Interaction to Optimize Transport of Bioanalytes in Digital Microfluidics

Published on: November 10, 2014

7.9K

Size-dependent charge transfer between water microdroplets.

Shiquan Lin1,2, Leo N Y Cao1,2, Zhen Tang1,2

  • 1Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, People's Republic of China.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|July 24, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Contact electrification in water microdroplets is size-dependent. Large droplets become positive, small ones negative, explaining spontaneous hydrogen peroxide generation via charge transfer during ultrasonic atomization.

Keywords:
contact electrificationliquid–liquid interfacesize-dependentwater droplets

More Related Videos

Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method
07:18

Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method

Published on: June 14, 2019

6.7K
Safe Experimentation in Optical Levitation of Charged Droplets Using Remote Labs
09:09

Safe Experimentation in Optical Levitation of Charged Droplets Using Remote Labs

Published on: January 10, 2019

7.9K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 22, 2025

Taking Advantage of Reduced Droplet-surface Interaction to Optimize Transport of Bioanalytes in Digital Microfluidics
07:57

Taking Advantage of Reduced Droplet-surface Interaction to Optimize Transport of Bioanalytes in Digital Microfluidics

Published on: November 10, 2014

7.9K
Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method
07:18

Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method

Published on: June 14, 2019

6.7K
Safe Experimentation in Optical Levitation of Charged Droplets Using Remote Labs
09:09

Safe Experimentation in Optical Levitation of Charged Droplets Using Remote Labs

Published on: January 10, 2019

7.9K

Area of Science:

  • Physical Chemistry
  • Surface Science
  • Electrochemistry

Background:

  • Contact electrification (CE) in water is crucial for chemical reactions, including spontaneous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) generation in microdroplets.
  • Existing research primarily examines bulk water CE, with challenges in measuring and understanding CE in micrometer-sized water droplets.
  • The precise mechanism of CE in water microdroplets remains ambiguous.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a novel method for quantifying charge in water microdroplets generated by ultrasonic atomization.
  • To investigate the mechanism and size-dependency of contact electrification in water microdroplets.
  • To provide evidence supporting the CE-induced generation of hydrogen peroxide in water.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a technique to quantify charge on water microdroplets using ultrasonic atomization.
  • Observed microdroplet motion within a uniform electric field to calculate electrostatic forces.
  • Proposed a theoretical model for microdroplet charging based on experimental observations.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated that charge transfer during water microdroplet CE is size-dependent.
  • Observed that larger microdroplets tend to acquire positive charges, while smaller ones acquire negative charges.
  • Implied negative charge transfer from larger to smaller microdroplets during ultrasonic atomization.

Conclusions:

  • A theoretical model attributes microdroplet charging to curvature-induced surface potential/energy differences.
  • The calculated electric field between oppositely charged, separating microdroplets is sufficient to convert hydroxide ions (OH-) to hydroxyl radicals (OH*).
  • Provides strong evidence for contact electrification driving the spontaneous generation of hydrogen peroxide in water microdroplets.