Regulation of bubble evolution dynamics by surfactants during water electrolysis

Junjie Chu; Zongxu Wang; Yawei Liu; Mengyuan Huang; Leqi Tian; Zhenlei Wang; Yinge Bai; Haifeng Dong; Lu Bai; Xiangping Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2026.140594

Regulation of bubble evolution dynamics by surfactants during water electrolysis

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2026 Oct:719:140594. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2026.140594. Epub 2026 Apr 23.

Authors

Junjie Chu¹, Zongxu Wang², Yawei Liu³, Mengyuan Huang⁴, Leqi Tian³, Zhenlei Wang³, Yinge Bai³, Haifeng Dong⁵, Lu Bai⁶, Xiangping Zhang⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemical Engineering and Environment, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China; Center of Ionic Liquids and Green Energy, Beijing Key Laboratory of Solid State Battery and Energy Storage Process, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
² Huizhou Institute of Green Energy and Advanced Materials, Guangdong 516081, China; Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory, Huizhou 516003, China.
³ Center of Ionic Liquids and Green Energy, Beijing Key Laboratory of Solid State Battery and Energy Storage Process, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
⁴ School of Automobile and Clean Energy, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China; Institute of Process Engineering and Environmental Technology, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden 01069, Germany.
⁵ Center of Ionic Liquids and Green Energy, Beijing Key Laboratory of Solid State Battery and Energy Storage Process, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; Huizhou Institute of Green Energy and Advanced Materials, Guangdong 516081, China.
⁶ Center of Ionic Liquids and Green Energy, Beijing Key Laboratory of Solid State Battery and Energy Storage Process, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China. Electronic address: lbai1207@ipe.ac.cn.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemical Engineering and Environment, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China. Electronic address: xpzhang@ipe.ac.cn.

PMID: 42061039
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2026.140594

Abstract

Hypothesis: Facilitating rapid gas-bubble detachment is crucial for boosting water-splitting systems efficiency. However, the mechanisms governing bubble detachment dynamics remain unclarified, especially the role of electrostatic interactions. By modulating interfacial electrostatics and surface tension through surfactants with distinct charge properties, we hypothesize electrostatic forces arising from surfactant adsorption at the bubble-liquid interface have a greater influence on controlling bubble detachment than buoyancy and Marangoni stresses.

Experiments: The influence of surfactant type on H₂ bubble evolution during hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was investigated by combining high-speed imaging and electrochemical analysis. Finite-element simulations and force analysis were conducted to reveal the interplay of buoyancy, Marangoni, and electrostatic forces.

Findings: The surfactants added to the electrolyte induce electrostatic forces at the bubble interface, which become the dominant driver of the detachment process. Specifically, the anionic surfactant sodium dodecanesulfonate (SLS) increased bubble detachment frequency by 3.5-fold (micro-electrode) and enhanced HER current density by ∼34% (wire electrode) compared to surfactant-free electrolytes. Force analysis and simulations further substantiated that the surfactant-mediated electrostatic force (∼6.78 μN) dominated bubble detachment dynamics, overwhelming contributions from buoyancy (∼2.47 μN) and the Marangoni force (∼0.12 μN). In contrast, the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) strengthened adhesion interactions through electrostatic attraction, enhancing bubble adhesion to the electrode surface and delaying bubble release. These findings establish the critical role of surfactant-derived electrostatic forces in bubble detachment at the microscale and demonstrate that rationally selecting surfactants to tune interfacial electrostatics represents a potential pathway for modulating bubble dynamics.

Keywords: Bubble detachment; Electrostatic interactions; Hydrogen evolution reaction; Surfactants.