In-situ high-speed atomic force microscopy observation of dynamic nanobubbles during water electrolysis

Abstract

The nanobubbles (NB) formed on a solid surface has been reported, although the stability in a solution is still discussed. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) has shown the unique shape of the flatted NB, however the dynamic behavior has not investigated yet. Recently, the high scanning speed AFM (HS-AFM) has been developed and applied to the several interfaces. Here, we present in-situ HS-AFM observation during water electrolysis. The hydrogen and oxygen NB evolution on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) electrode are studied. Our video data is the first time to demonstrate the NB nucleation and the growth. The processes are different between both gases. The hydrogen NB grows with active coalescence, while the oxygen one is smaller and irregularly moves on HOPG surface. Using this technique, we will be able to study the NB stability influence by some factors, such as the surface potential and electric capillarity.