Ben Ern茅鈥檚 research focuses on the physical and colloidal chemistry of electrical double layers. They are essential for the functional properties of soft matter and electrodes, and they consist of opposite charges at the two sides of a liquid-liquid or solid-liquid interface.
[Sources of first 3 images: , , and .]
We discovered that electric charge further decreases the , and using nanoplates, we made , of interest for research into low-calorie foods.
Thanks to the repulsion between double layers, we made . This makes them suitable for the magnetic density separation of plastics, a .
We are continuing to develop a to measure the electric charge on colloids, proteins, and polyelectrolytes, a key property for the performance of paints, foods, and baby diapers, among other soft matter.
We are also working on a inside the (1 nm wide) micropores of porous electrodes. Such electrodes are used in supercapacitors (for electrical energy storage) and capacitive deionization (to make drinking water from salt water). We recently demonstrated that such measurements inform about the attraction of the ions to the electrode surface and the .