Repository logo

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
  1. Home
  2. Academic and Research Output
  3. Journal articles
  4. Numerical Analysis on Field-Enhanced Homogeneous Dissociation of Protonated Buffer Species within the Electrical Double Layer during Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
 
research article

Numerical Analysis on Field-Enhanced Homogeneous Dissociation of Protonated Buffer Species within the Electrical Double Layer during Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Wada, Melody
•
Obata, Keisuke
•
Agarwal, Venu  
Show more
October 27, 2025
ACS Electrochemistry

During the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the second Wien effect enhances the dissociation of weak electrolytes when exposed to high electric fields. This enhanced dissociation impacts the reactant-switching mechanism, promoting the production of free protons that facilitate HER. In this study, we examine the extent of field-induced dissociation utilizing the generalized modified Poisson-Nernst-Plank (GMPNP) model, which incorporates electric-field-enhanced ion dissociation to simulate ion distributions and resulting proton limiting current densities in both unbuffered and buffered electrolytes. Specifically, we compare unbuffered conditions using KClO 4 with buffered systems using K-carbonate and K-phosphate. The findings reveal that strong field sensitivity may lead to an overestimation of water dissociation, especially in unbuffered conditions. Notably, in the presence of buffer species, field-enhanced protolysis allows free protons to serve as effective HER reactants at current densities exceeding several hundred mA cm −2. In the diffuse layer, the effective proton concentration surpasses that in the bulk due to the electric-field-driven dissociation of buffer species. This study emphasizes the critical role of interfacial electric fields in modulating local ion availability and highlights computational modeling as a powerful tool for visualizing nearelectrode ion distributions�an aspect challenging to capture experimentally.

  • Files
  • Details
  • Metrics
Type
research article
DOI
10.1021/acselectrochem.5c00299
Author(s)
Wada, Melody
Obata, Keisuke
Agarwal, Venu  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Lorenzutti, Francesca  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Haussener, Sophia  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Takanabe, Kazuhiro
Date Issued

2025-10-27

Publisher

American Chemical Society (ACS)

Published in
ACS Electrochemistry
Article Number

acselectrochem.5c00299

Subjects

Second Wien effect

•

electric field

•

ion dissociation

•

hydrogen evolution reaction

•

electrolyte engineering

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LRESE  
FunderFunding(s)Grant NumberGrant URL

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

JPMXP1122712807

Japan Science and Technology Agency

JPMJGX23H2

Available on Infoscience
October 29, 2025
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/255333
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Contact
  • infoscience@epfl.ch

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Follow us on LinkedIn
  • Follow us on X
  • Follow us on Youtube
AccessibilityLegal noticePrivacy policyCookie settingsEnd User AgreementGet helpFeedback

Infoscience is a service managed and provided by the Library and IT Services of EPFL. © EPFL, tous droits réservés