Condensed Matter Physics, 2017, vol. 20, No. 3, 33004
DOI:10.5488/CMP.20.33004           arXiv:1710.01097

Title: Charge storage in nanotubes: the case of a 2-1 electrolyte
Author(s):
  W. Schmickler (Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Ulm University, Germany) ,
  D. Henderson (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA)

We consider a 2-1 electrolyte in contact with a narrow nanotube, which only allows one-dimensional storage along the axis. The asymmetry does not allow an a priori definition of the potential of zero charge; instead, the natural reference is the electrode potential at which both ions have the same electrochemical potential; the value of the latter can serve as a measure of ionophilicity. Near this potential, ionophobic tubes are filled with a dilute gas, ionophilic tubes are filled with a one-dimensional solid containing about the same number of the divalent ions and the monovalent counterions, a structure that is stabilized by a strong screening of the Coulomb interaction by an induced counter charge on the walls of the tube. The filling of the tube by the application of an electrode potential exhibits a complicated pattern of interactions between the two kinds of ions.

Key words: Monte Carlo simulation, electrical double layer, ions, capacitance, nanocylinder pores
PACS: 02.70.Lq, 82.20.Wt, 82.45.+z, 83.20


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