Electrokinetic Control of Interfacial Instabilities

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Martin Bazant, MIT
Fine Hall 214

This talk will describe three examples of interfacial dynamics – viscous fingering, deionization shock propagation, and dendritic electrodeposition – whose stability can be controlled by electrokinetic phenomena in charged porous media, as evidenced by both theory and experiments.  Potential applications include electrically enhanced oil recovery, water purification by shock electrodialysis, and energy storage with metal batteries.