Dynamics of growth and detachment of single hydrogen bubble on horizontal and vertical microelectrode surfaces considering liquid microlayer structure in water electrolysis

The dynamics of the growth and detachment of a single hydrogen bubble on both the horizontal and vertical microelectrode surfaces in water electrolysis were synthetically investigated by combining the numerical simulation, force balance analysis, and available experimental data. Approximately, multiple steady simulation cases with different bubble diameters for different growth instances were conducted to state the actual unsteady bubble growth and detachment behavior. The numerical simulations of the temperature distribution considering the heat transfer caused by the liquid microlayer and induced Marangoni convection effects were performed. Then, a force balance model for predicting the bubble detachment diameter was developed by fully utilizing the simulated multi-physical field parameters and the experimental results of some key bubble geometric parameters. The presented numerical model and the force balance model were validated by comparing them with previous experimental data on the potential and the bubble detachment diameter, respectively. The simulation results indicate a significantly larger potential value occurs within the microlayer, and hence, the Joule heat of the electrolyte is mainly generated in the microlayer and then transferred to the bulk flow region. Obviously, the temperature gradient distribution is formed at the bubble interface, causing unstable Marangoni convection structure. The distribution patterns and evolutions of the electrolyte temperature, Marangoni convection velocity, and microlayer thickness for the horizontal and vertical microelectrode systems are significantly different. The present force balance model presents higher prediction accuracy for the bubble detachment diameters. Moreover, the in-depth force analysis results reveal that some dominant forces influence the bubble growth and detachment.

Automated summary

The growth and detachment dynamics of a single hydrogen bubble on microelectrode surfaces in water electrolysis were investigated using numerical simulation, force balance analysis, and experimental data. Multiple simulation cases with different bubble diameters were conducted to study the unsteady growth and detachment behavior. A force balance model was developed to predict bubble detachment diameter using simulated physical parameters and experimental results. The models were validated with previous experimental data and were found to accurately predict bubble detachment diameter.