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Topography investigation of water layer and self‐assembled monolayer with OTS‐modified AFM tips
Author(s) -
Wei Zhongqing,
Wang Chen,
Wang Zhigang,
Liu Dage,
Bai Chunli
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.1053
Subject(s) - monolayer , mica , atomic force microscopy , capillary action , meniscus , layer (electronics) , materials science , contact angle , nanotechnology , self assembled monolayer , chemistry , optics , composite material , physics , incidence (geometry)
The imaging process with atomic force microscopy (AFM) in air is influenced by many factors, such as tip size and geometry, scan speed, ambient humidity, etc. In an ambient environment the imaging can be affected greatly by the humidity of the atmosphere because of the formation of the meniscus along the tip‐sample interface. The capillary force between the tip and the sample is generally large enough to make it difficult to obtain a high‐resolution image, therefore it is necessary to eliminate this capillary in order to obtain improved images. To this end, we modified tips with CH 3 ‐terminated organosilane to make them hydrophobic. With such tips we obtained (in AFM/LFM mode) improved images of soft materials such as the water layer and the self‐assembled monolayer (SAM). For octadecantrichlorosilane (OTS) SAM chemisorbed on mica, high‐resolution lattice‐resolved images also were collected. The results demonstrated that these hydrophobic tips were suitable for obtaining improved images. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.