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Published June 3, 1992 | public
Journal Article

Quantized adhesion detected with the atomic force microscope

Abstract

The atomic force microscope (AFM) is rapidly becoming a powerful tool for investigating surface chemistry and adhesion. Current efforts with this new instrument are guided by the pioneering research of Israelachvili and his colleagues, whose work with the surface force apparatus has laid the foundation for investigating interactions near and between surfaces. The AFM is capable of measuring forces of less than 10^(-11) N with high spatial resolution, thus making possible the study of very weak interactions and local surface chemistry. Here we report the first (to our knowledge) observation of discrete adhesive interactions with measured forces of 1 x 10^(-11) N. Two mechanisms for this effect are proposed: individual hydrogen bonds between the tip and surface are resolved or ordered water layers create different force minima near the surface.

Additional Information

© 1992 American Chemical Society. Received February 13, 1992. This research was supported by the Office of Naval Research (J.P.C., C.B.P., J.H.H.), the National Science Foundation Solid State Physics Grant DMR89-17164 (P.K.H.), and by fellowship awards from the Colvin and Merck Funds (J.H.H.). Equipment was supplied by Digital Instruments. We thank J. Israelachvili, W. Ducker, and D. Leckband for insightful discussions.

Additional details

Created:
August 20, 2023
Modified:
October 18, 2023