In this article, we report the generation of alternating current by the application of constant and ramping DC voltages across oil–water interfaces. The work reported here can be broadly divided into two parts depending on the shapes of oil–water interfaces, i.e., flattened and curved. In the first part, an alternating current of ∼100 nA (amplitude) was generated by applying a constant DC voltage of −3 V and above across a freestanding and flattened oil–water interface. In another part, an alternating current of ∼150 nA (amplitude) was generated by applying a ramping up DC voltage starting from −5 V to 5 V, then again ramping back down to −5 V for the freestanding and curved interface. The suggested qualitative mechanism that engenders such a phenomenon includes the oil–water interface acting like a membrane. This membrane oscillates due to the electrophoretic movement of ions present in the aqueous phase by the application of a DC voltage across the interface. This electrophoretic movement of ions across oil–water interfaces causes Faraday instabilities leading to oscillations of the said interface. This method could also be used to study the stress levels in the interfacial films between two immiscible liquids. It explores the more-than-Moore’s paradigm by finding a substitute to a conventional alternator/inverter that generates alternating current upon applying a DC voltage input. This work would be of substantial interest to researchers exploring alternatives to conventional AC generators that can be used in liquid environments and in the design of novel integrated circuits that could be used for unconventional computing applications.
Microbial growth has been of prime importance to the researchers in health and biotechnology industries. It has been known to be closely associated to the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances that help in the formation of colonies. Inter-microbial communication happens within such colonies by means of extracellular electron transfer mediated by the aforementioned polymeric substances. Conventionally, different phases of microbial growth are monitored with the aid of a traditional UV-Visible spectrophotometer by measuring the optical density of the liquid medium at 280 nm. In this paper, we have developed an alternative novel way to sense different growth phases employing electrochemical means i.e. two-terminal cyclic voltammetry. This cyclic voltammetry relies on the extracellular electron transfer mechanism taking place via the polymeric substances secreted by the microorganisms, measured by the temporal area changes in the current-voltage hysteresis curves in the inoculated nutrient broth. This work paves a new way to detect the biological activity in the medium, which can be directly correlated to the population of microorganisms. It would be of immense interest to scientists and researchers working in the field of microbiology as well as in development of biosensors, electrochemical sensors etc. which would be helpful in absence of traditional spectrophotometers.
In this article, we report the generation of alternating current by application of constant and ramping DC voltages across oil-water interfaces. The work reported here can be broadly divided into two parts depending on the shapes of oil-water interfaces i.e. flattened and curved. In the first part, an alternating current of ~100 nA (amplitude)was generated by applying a constant DC voltage of -3V& above across a free standing and flattened oil-water interface.In another part, an alternating current of ~150 nA (amplitude) was generated by applying a ramping up DC voltage starting from -5V to 5V, then again ramping back down to -5V for the free standing and curved interface. The suggested qualitative mechanism that engenders such a phenomenon includes the oil-water interface acting like a membrane. This membrane oscillates due to the electrophoretic movement of ions present in aqueous phase by application of a DC voltage across the interface.This electrophoretic movement of ions across oil-water interfaces causes the Faraday instabilities leading to oscillations of the said interface.This method could also be used to study the stress levels in the interfacial films between two immiscible liquids. It explores more-than-Moore’s paradigm by finding a substitute to a conventional alternator/inverter that generates alternating current upon applying DC voltage input. This work would be of substantial interest to researchers exploring alternatives to conventional AC generators that can be used in liquid environments and in the design of novel integrated circuits that could be used for unconventional computing applications.
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