Adsorption of Water on Solid Surfaces Studied by Scanning Force Microscopy

Abstract

Tip−sample interaction of an oscillating tip near a surface is determined. The experimental results show that the presence of the surface can be detected without mechanically touching the surface. By adjusting the appropriate operating conditions of a scanning force microscope setup, tip−sample contact can be avoided during imaging at atmospheric pressure. This allows study of even the softest samples. In the present work, we demonstrate that molecularly thin water films can be imaged with nanometer resolution on different substrates such as mica, gold, and highly oriented pyrolitic graphite. Correspondingly, scanning force microscopy can be used to investigate wetting properties of liquids with very high spatial resolution.