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Polymer Adhesion at the Solid–Liquid Interface Probed by a Single–Molecule Force Sensor
Author(s) -
Geisler Michael,
Balzer Bizan N.,
Hugel Thorsten
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.200901237
Subject(s) - polymer , adhesion , materials science , solvation , substrate (aquarium) , molecule , aqueous solution , ion , surface forces apparatus , chemical physics , chemical engineering , solvent , surface energy , nanotechnology , chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , oceanography , engineering , geology
A method based on atomic force microscopy is used to delineate the properties that determine single‐molecule adhesion onto solid substrates in aqueous environment. Hydrophobicity as well as electrical properties of the substrate and the polymer are varied. In addition, the influence of the solvent composition, in particular the effect of ions, on the molecular adhesion at the solid–liquid interface is studied. Surprisingly, the polymer and surface‐related properties account for only small changes in adhesion force, while dissolved ions show a much larger effect. These results point towards the energy of solvation as the most important contribution to adhesion for a wide variety of polymers and substrate materials.