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Highly energetic phenomena in water electrolysis
Water electrolysis performed in microsystems with a fast change of voltage polarity produces optically invisible nanobubbles containing H(2) and O(2) gases. In this form the gases are able to the reverse reaction of water formation. Here we report extreme phenomena observed in a millimeter-sized ope...
Autores principales: | , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Nature Publishing Group
2016
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5159792/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27982103 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep39381 |
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author | Postnikov, A. V. Uvarov, I. V. Lokhanin, M. V. Svetovoy, V. B. |
author_facet | Postnikov, A. V. Uvarov, I. V. Lokhanin, M. V. Svetovoy, V. B. |
author_sort | Postnikov, A. V. |
collection | PubMed |
description | Water electrolysis performed in microsystems with a fast change of voltage polarity produces optically invisible nanobubbles containing H(2) and O(2) gases. In this form the gases are able to the reverse reaction of water formation. Here we report extreme phenomena observed in a millimeter-sized open system. Under a frequency of driving pulses above 100 kHz the process is accompanied by clicking sounds repeated every 50 ms or so. Fast video reveals that synchronously with the click a bubble is growing between the electrodes which reaches a size of 300 μm in 50 μs. Detailed dynamics of the system is monitored by means of a vibrometer by observing a piece of silicon floating above the electrodes. The energy of a single event is estimated as 0.3 μJ and a significant part of this energy is transformed into mechanical work moving the piece. The observations are explained by the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen mixture in the initial bubble with a diameter of about 40 μm. Unusual combustion mechanism supporting spontaneous ignition at room temperature is responsible for the process. The observed effect demonstrates a principal possibility to build a microscopic internal combustion engine. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-5159792 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2016 |
publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-51597922016-12-21 Highly energetic phenomena in water electrolysis Postnikov, A. V. Uvarov, I. V. Lokhanin, M. V. Svetovoy, V. B. Sci Rep Article Water electrolysis performed in microsystems with a fast change of voltage polarity produces optically invisible nanobubbles containing H(2) and O(2) gases. In this form the gases are able to the reverse reaction of water formation. Here we report extreme phenomena observed in a millimeter-sized open system. Under a frequency of driving pulses above 100 kHz the process is accompanied by clicking sounds repeated every 50 ms or so. Fast video reveals that synchronously with the click a bubble is growing between the electrodes which reaches a size of 300 μm in 50 μs. Detailed dynamics of the system is monitored by means of a vibrometer by observing a piece of silicon floating above the electrodes. The energy of a single event is estimated as 0.3 μJ and a significant part of this energy is transformed into mechanical work moving the piece. The observations are explained by the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen mixture in the initial bubble with a diameter of about 40 μm. Unusual combustion mechanism supporting spontaneous ignition at room temperature is responsible for the process. The observed effect demonstrates a principal possibility to build a microscopic internal combustion engine. Nature Publishing Group 2016-12-16 /pmc/articles/PMC5159792/ /pubmed/27982103 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep39381 Text en Copyright © 2016, The Author(s) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
spellingShingle | Article Postnikov, A. V. Uvarov, I. V. Lokhanin, M. V. Svetovoy, V. B. Highly energetic phenomena in water electrolysis |
title | Highly energetic phenomena in water electrolysis |
title_full | Highly energetic phenomena in water electrolysis |
title_fullStr | Highly energetic phenomena in water electrolysis |
title_full_unstemmed | Highly energetic phenomena in water electrolysis |
title_short | Highly energetic phenomena in water electrolysis |
title_sort | highly energetic phenomena in water electrolysis |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5159792/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27982103 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep39381 |
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