TY - JOUR AU - Ibach, H. AU - Beltramo, G. L. AU - Giesen, M. TI - Interface capacitance of nano-patterned electrodes JO - Surface science VL - 605 SN - 0039-6028 CY - Amsterdam PB - Elsevier M1 - PreJuSER-10597 PY - 2011 N1 - Record converted from VDB: 12.11.2012 AB - By employing numerical solutions of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation we have studied the interface capacitance of flat electrodes with stripes of different potentials of zero charge phi(pzc). The results depend on the ratio of the width of the stripes l to the dielectric screening length in the electrolyte, the Debye length d(Debye), as well as on the difference Delta phi(pzc), in relation k(B)T/e. As expected, the capacitance of a striped surface has its minimum at the mean potential of the surface if l/d(Debye)<< 1 and displays two minima if l/d(Debye)>> 1. An unexpected result is that for Delta phi(pzc)congruent to 0.2V, the transition between the two extreme cases does not occur when l congruent to d(Debye). but rather when l>10d(Debye). As a consequence, a single minimum in the capacitance is observed for dilute electrolytes even for 100 nm wide stripes. The capacitance at the minimum is however higher than for homogeneous surfaces. Furthermore, the potential at the minimum deviates significantly from the potential of zero mean charge on the surface if l>3d(Debye) and Delta phi(pzc) is larger than about 4k(B)T/e. The capacitance of stepped, partially reconstructed Au(11n) surfaces is discussed as an example. Consequences for Parsons-Zobel-plots of the capacitances of inhomogeneous surfaces are likewise discussed. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - J (WoSType) LB - PUB:(DE-HGF)16 UR - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000286021000034 DO - DOI:10.1016/j.susc.2010.10.025 UR - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/10597 ER -