Serious Problems with Saeed & Lee’s “Experimental Determination of Proton-Cation Exchange Equilibrium Constants at Water-Membrane Interface Fundamental to Bioenergetics”
Todd P. Silverstein*
Department of Chemistry (emeritus), Willamette University, Salem, OR 97301
*corresponding author: tsilvers@willamette.edu
Keywords: bioenergetics, water electrolysis; protonic capacitor, transmembrane electrostatically localized protons, surface-localized protons, localized chemiosmosis
Submitted: August 16, 2023
Reviewed: January 5, 2024
Accepted: February 12, 2024
Published: June 9, 2024
doi:10.14294/WATER.2024.1
Abstract
Saeed and Lee recently published “Experimental Determination of Proton-Cation Exchange Equilibrium Constants at Water-Membrane Interface Fundamental to Bioenergetics,” in the WATER Journal. We show here, using standard thermodynamic calculations, that the equilibrium constants that they reported cannot be correct. Furthermore, we point out serious flaws in their conclusions regarding the experimental electrolysis system: It is highly doubtful that (i) black stains on the aluminum films represent proton-induced “corrosion” and can be used to quantitate surface proton concentration, and (ii) their Teflon® disks support a “protonic capacitor.”