The Origin of the "Snap‐In" in the Force Curve between AFM Probe and the Water/Gas Interface of Nanobubbles. Issue 3 (29th January 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Song, Yang; Zhao, Binyu; Zhang, Lijuan; Lü, Junhong; Wang, Shuo; Dong, Yaming; Hu, Jun
• Is Part Of: Chemphyschem. Volume 15:Issue 3(2014)
• Page Start: 492
• Page End: 499
• Publication Date: 2014-01-29
• Subjects: Chemistry, Physical and theoretical -- Periodicals; 541.05
• DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201301081
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1439-4235

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>The long‐range attractive force or "snap‐in" is an important phenomenon usually occurring when a solid particle interacts with a water/gas interface. By using PeakForce quantitative nanomechanics the origin of snap‐in in the force curve between the atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe and the water/gas interface of nanobubbles has been investigated. The snap‐in frequently happened when the probe was preserved for a certain time or after being used for imaging solid surfaces under atmospheric conditions. In contrast, imaging in liquids rarely induced a snap‐in. After a series of control experiments, it was found that the snap‐in can be attributed to hydrophobic interactions between the water/gas interface and the AFM probe, which was either modified or contaminated with hydrophobic material. The hydrophobic contamination could be efficiently removed by a conventional plasma‐cleaning treatment, which prevents the occurring of the snap‐in. In addition, the adsorption of sodium dodecyl sulfate onto the nanobubble surface changed the water/gas interface into hydrophilic, which also eliminated the snap‐in phenomenon.</p> </abstract>