Correlation-induced transition of mobile ions on opposed charge-neutral surfaces

✍ Scribed by Lianrui Zhang; H.Ted Davis; A.A. Kornyshev; D.M. Kroll

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 659 KB
• Volume: 229
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0009-2614
• DOI: 10.1016/0009-2614(94)01099-4

✦ Synopsis

Molecular dynamics simulations of the interactions between two planar charge-neutral surfaces with adsorbed mobile ions separated by a slab of dielectric continuum show structural transitions in the intersurface pair correlation functions at small intersurface separations and low temperatures. This transition manifests itself as an abrupt increase in interfacial attraction at distances less than 10 A. It is also shown that pure Coulombic interactions can give rise to both repulsive and attractive forces when the image charges created by the dielectric discontinuities are considered. The dependence of the magnitude and sign of the disjoining pressure on the surface ion densities, the temperature, and the surface separation is discussed.