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Acid‐base diodes in a hydrogel medium. Nonlinear response for mono‐ and divalent contaminating ions: theory and experiments
Author(s) -
Kirschner N.,
Simon P.L.,
Wittmann M.,
Noszticzius Z.,
Merkin J.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
macromolecular symposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-3900
pISSN - 1022-1360
DOI - 10.1002/1521-3900(200010)160:1<167::aid-masy167>3.0.co;2-q
Subject(s) - divalent , salt (chemistry) , diode , base (topology) , ion , aqueous solution , materials science , chemistry , inorganic chemistry , optoelectronics , organic chemistry , mathematical analysis , mathematics
Small hydrogel cylinders connecting aqueous solutions of a strong acid and a strong base show a current‐voltage characteristic similar to that of a semiconductor diode. This characteristic is affected by adding a salt either to the acid or to the base and the response is highly nonlinear close to certain critical salt concentrations. Theoretical characteristics derived from the Nernst‐Planck equations agree qualitatively with the experimental observations for moderate salt concentrations. Applying higher salt concentrations, however, deviations can be observed which are similar in character for both mono‐ and divalent contaminating ions. The results suggest that the deviation from the theoretical behaviour is not due to ion specific properties, but rather it is caused by the hydrogel medium itself.