Dr. Javier Carrasco

Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry, Spanish National Research Council

Email: j.carrasco@csic.es

    

 

 

 

Abstract:Water-solid interfaces are ubiquitous and of the utmost importance to industry, technology and many aspects of daily life. Despite countless studies from different areas of science, detailed molecular-level understanding of water-solid interfaces comes mainly from well-defined studies on flat metal surfaces. These studies have recently shown that a remarkably rich variety of structures form at the interface between water and seemingly simple flat metal surfaces. Here we discuss a brief selection of some of the most exciting examples of recent work in this area [1-5] and the underlying physical insight and general concepts that emerge about how water binds to surfaces. Moreover, special attention will be paid to the role of van der Waals (vdW) in the water-metal interaction by means of recent, improved vdW density functionals [6]. A brief perspective on the outstanding problems, challenges, and open questions in the field will also be provided.

[1] J. Carrasco, A. Michaelides, M. Forster, S. Haq, R. Raval, and A. Hodgson, Nature Mater. 8, 427 (2009).

[2] M. Mehlhorn, J. Carrasco, A. Michaelides, and K. Morgenstern, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 026101 (2009).

[3] M. Forster, R. Raval, A. Hodgson, J. Carrasco, and A. Michaelides, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 046103 (2011).

[4] M. Forster, R. Raval, J. Carrasco, A. Michaelides, and A. Hodgson, Chem. Sci 3, 93 (2012).

[5] J. Carrasco, A. Hodgson, A. Michaelides, Nature Mater. (in press)

[6] J. Carrasco, B. Santra, J. Klimes, and A. Michaelides, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 026101 (2011). 

Date&Time: June 11, 2012 (Monday), 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Location: 606 Conference Room