Title: surface dipole layer
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - surface dipole layer
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.S06169
Status: current

Definition
Particles in the surface region of a phase are subjected to orienting forces as a result of the anisotropic force field. Polar molecules (e.g. permanent dipoles) may thus be preferentially oriented in the surface region, while polarizable molecules may be polarized (induced dipoles). The array of oriented polar and/or polarized molecules is called the surface dipole layer with which an electric potential drop is associated, called the surface potential of the phase.

Related Terms
- electric potential: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/E01935
- surface region: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/S06187

Source
- PAC, 1983, 55, 1251. 'Interphases in systems of conducting phases (Provisional)' on page 1254 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac198355081251)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/S06169/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/S06169/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/S06169/xml

Citation: Citation: 'surface dipole layer' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.S06169
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
Collection: If you are interested in licensing the Gold Book for commercial use, please contact the IUPAC Executive Director at executivedirector@iupac.org .
Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-02-11T07:40:37+00:00