A comparative study of surface energy data from atomic force microscopy and from contact angle goniometry

Dimitris Lamprou; James Smith; Tom Nevell; Eugen Barbu; C. Willis; John Tsibouklis

doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2010.03.064

A comparative study of surface energy data from atomic force microscopy and from contact angle goniometry

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Dimitris Lamprou
Dr James Smith
Tom Nevell
Dr Eugen Barbu
C. Willis
Dr John Tsibouklis

School of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences

Forces of adhesion have been measured for interactions involving self-assembled monolayers or polymer-film structures that had each been deposited onto a gold-coated glass substrate and a probing, gold-coated cantilever. The data have been fitted into mathematical models that allow the calculation of surface energy by considering the work done for the separation of the identically coated contacting surfaces. These values of surface energy are in close agreement with those from corresponding contact angle determinations, highlighting the potential usefulness of the technique for the study of surfaces at a resolution level approaching 1000 atoms. Comparative studies show that the employment of the atomic force microscopy technique may be preferable for the study of samples that are susceptible to penetration by liquids or for investigations under conditions that exceed the useful limits of conventional probing techniques involving liquids.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	5082-5087
Number of pages	6
Journal	Applied Surface Science
Volume	256
Issue number	16
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2010.03.064
Publication status	Published - 2010