Elemental analysis within the electrical double layer using total reflection X-ray fluorescence technique.

A simplified total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TRXF) technique is proposed for the study of the electrical double layer (EDL) near charged monolayers at the air-water interface. In contrast to the parent NTEF (near total external reflection X-ray fluorescence) method, TRXF uses a fixed angle of incidence (below the critical one) and abandons both "spatial resolution" (which is poor anyway) and "absolute calibration" with the bulk reference. These modifications reduce both the duration of experiments and the complexity of the data treatment by 1-2 orders of magnitude and turn TRXF into a truly simple tool for elemental analysis within the EDL.

Breakdown of the Gouy-Chapman model for highly charged Langmuir monolayers: counterion size effect.

Deviations from the classic Gouy-Chapman (GC) model due to the finite size of hydrated counterions were tested for negatively charged Langmuir monolayers with different surface charge densities. Monolayers with the largest charge density (>0.6 C.