Electrolyte droplet spraying in H2 bubbles during water electrolysis under normal and microgravity conditions
Electrolytically generated gas bubbles can significantly hamper the overall electrolysis efficiency. Therefore it is crucial to understand their dynamics in order to optimise water electrolyzer systems. Herein, we elucidate a distinct transport mechanism whereby electrolyte droplets are sprayed into H<sub>2</sub> bubbles. These droplets arise from the fragmentation of the Worthington jet, which is engendered by the coalescence with microbubbles. The robustness of this phenomenon is corroborated under both normal and microgravity conditions. Reminiscent of bursting bubbles on a liquid-gas interface, electrolyte spraying results in a flow inside the bubble. This flow couples, in an intriguing way, with the thermocapillary convection at the bubble's surface, clearly underlining the high interfacial mobility. In the case of electrode-attached bubbles, the sprayed droplets form electrolyte puddles affecting the dynamics near the three-phase contact line and favoring bubble detachment from the electrode. The results of this work unravel important insights into the physico-chemical aspects of electrolytic gas bubbles, integral for optimizing gas-evolving electrochemical systems.
Authors
- Lars Büttner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0114-9582)
- Alexander Babich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1379-3751)
- Aleksandr Bashkatov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6385-7755)
- Dominik J. Krug (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0627-5676)
- Kerstin Eckert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9671-8628)
- Çayan Demirkır (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7851-0287)
- Florian Bürkle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6198-1346)
- Vatsal Sanjay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4293-6099)
- Jürgen Czarske (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7280-0523)
- Detlef Lohse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4138-2255)
- Wei Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4764-7827)
- Xuegeng Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4617-0713)
- Gerd Mutschke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7918-7474)
Institutions
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (DE)
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (DE)
- Max Planck University of Twente Center for Complex Fluid Dynamics (NL)
- Technische Universität Dresden (DE)
- RWTH Aachen University (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-05-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59762-7
- Citations
- 18
- Primary Topic
- Electrohydrodynamics and Fluid Dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 13.15
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
- Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie
- Technische Universität Dresden