Open AccessIn Situ Atomic-Scale Imaging of Interfacial Water under 3D Nanoscale Confinement
Author(s) -
Manuel R. Uhlig,
Ricardo García García
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
nano letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.853
H-Index - 488
eISSN - 1530-6992
pISSN - 1530-6984
DOI - 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c01092
Subject(s) - capillary condensation , nanoscopic scale , kelvin equation , mica , meniscus , capillary action , condensation , materials science , chemical physics , water vapor , atomic units , nanotechnology , kelvin probe force microscope , in situ , graphite , atomic force microscopy , chemistry , adsorption , optics , composite material , thermodynamics , physics , incidence (geometry) , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Capillary condensation of water from vapor is an everyday phenomenon which has a wide range of scientific and technological implications. Many aspects of capillary condensation are not well understood such as the structure of interfacial water, the existence of distinct properties of confined water, or the validity of the Kelvin equation at nanoscale. We note the absence of high-spatial resolution images inside a meniscus. Here, we develop an AFM-based method to provide in situ atomic-scale resolution maps of the solid-water interface of a nanomeniscus (80-250 nm 3 ). The separation between the first two hydration layers on graphite is 0.30 nm, while on mica it is 0.28 nm. Those values are very close to the ones expected for the same surfaces immersed in bulk water. Thus, the hydration layer structure on a crystalline surface is independent of the water volume.