Publication date: 28th August 2024
Molecular dynamics can be a powerful tool to study the properties of electrochemical interfaces.
In this talk, I will take you on a walk through the atomic scale world that unfolds at the surface of metallic electrodes. We will start by visiting a forest of adsorbates, including H and OH. In this context, I will discuss why even adsorbed hydrogen on platinum surfaces, which is probably one of the most studied electrochemical interfaces, still bares its secrets. We will then go further and view the influence of adsorbed OH on the operando electrochemical interface. Here, I will ask the question why the presence of OH can (not) change everything. Finally, we will look further up from the surface and scrutinize the behavior of ions at the interface. Can molecular dynamics help us unravelling at which height the ions reside? What happens to the solvation structure of the ions as they approach the interface? And how closely can ions pack at charged metal surfaces?
All this information can be used to better understand electrochemical processes at the interface.