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The Effect of Thin Water Films on Force Microscopy Measurements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

D. Sedin
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO80309
K. Rowlen
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO80309
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Extract

The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a powerful tool for probing surface topography, in addition to chemical and mechanical properties of surfaces. To investigate the chemical properties of a sample, force measurements are made between the AFM's “molecular finger,” or probe, and the sample. Force measurements can be made in many environmental conditions, which makes the AFM a versatile technique. However, in ambient conditions most samples are covered by a thin layer of water. When the AFM probe comes into contact with the thin water layer, a capillary bridge forms between the AFM probe and sample. Because of this water layer, it is believed that in ambient conditions a non-surface specific capillary force dominates the adhesive force between the AFM probe and sample. The non-surface specific capillary force should obscure any information about the surface. Currently, we are studying to what extent the capillary forces are non-surface specific and what influence this has on pull-off-force measurements.

Type
Scanned Probe Microscopy: Much More Than Just Beautiful Images
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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References

1.Wenzler, L.A., Moyes, G.L., Harris, J.M., Beebe, T.P., Analytical Chemistry, 69 (1997)2855.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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