Controlled electrochemical gas bubble release from electrodes entirely and partially covered with hydrophobic materials

This paper deals with an experimental study on millimetre-size electrochemically evolved hydrogen bubbles. A method to generate gas bubbles controlled in number, size at detachment and place on a flat electrode is reported. Partially wetted composite islands are implemented on a polished metal substrate. As long as the island size is lower than a limit depending on its wettability, only one bubble spreads on the island and its size at detachment is controlled by the island perimeter. The composite, a metal–polytetrafluoroethylene (Ni–PTFE), is obtained by an electrochemical co-deposition process. On the contrary to predictions of available models for co-deposition, at current densities beyond Ni2+ limiting current density, the mass ratio of PTFE in the deposit strongly increases. A mechanism is proposed to describe co-deposition when hydrogen bubbles are co-evolved. The observation of gas evolution on fully hydrophobic electrodes highlights the fact that bubbles growth rate on such electrodes differs from growth rates when bubble growth is controlled by mass transport of dissolved gas. The more a bubble grows by coalescence the more its foot expands on the electrode the bigger its size at detachment. This triple line creeping mechanism explains why, when attached bubbles coalesce many times before detaching, their size at detachment increases with current density.

► Electrochemical generation of controlled millimetre size hydrogen bubbles is achieved on flat electrodes.
► The particularity of the gas release from highly hydrophobic electrode material is highlighted.
► The impact of electrochemical deposition conditions on wettability of Ni–PTFE is measured.