3-D imaging of surface chemistry in confinement
Thursday, July 20, 2017 - 15:32
in Physics & Chemistry
An optical imaging tool has been developed to visualize surface chemistry in real time. Researchers 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.