In situ characterization of nanoscale contaminations adsorbed in air using atomic force microscopy

Under ambient conditions, surfaces are rapidly modified and contaminated by absorbance of molecules and a variety of nanoparticles that drastically change their chemical and physical properties. The atomic force microscope tip-sample system can be considered a model system for investigating a variet...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Beilstein journal of nanotechnology 2018, Vol.9 (1), p.2925-2935
Main Authors: Lacasa, Jesús S, Almonte, Lisa, Colchero, Jaime
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic force microscopes
Atomic force microscopy
cantilever
Chemistry
Contact angle
contact potential
Contact potentials
Contamination
Dielectric properties
Dielectric strength
electrostatic forces
Experiments
force spectroscopy
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Geometry
Hamaker constant
Kelvin probe microscopy
Microscopy
Nanoparticles
Nanoscience
Nanotechnology
Organic chemistry
Physical properties
Semiconductors
Silicon nitride
Spectroscopy
surface contamination
Thickness
tip cleaning
tip–sample interaction
Topography
van der Waals interaction
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Summary:Under ambient conditions, surfaces are rapidly modified and contaminated by absorbance of molecules and a variety of nanoparticles that drastically change their chemical and physical properties. The atomic force microscope tip-sample system can be considered a model system for investigating a variety of nanoscale phenomena. In the present work we use atomic force microscopy to directly image nanoscale contamination on surfaces, and to characterize this contamination by using multidimensional spectroscopy techniques. By acquisition of spectroscopy data as a function of tip-sample voltage and tip-sample distance, we are able to determine the contact potential, the Hamaker constant and the effective thickness of the dielectric layer within the tip-sample system. All these properties depend strongly on the contamination within the tip-sample system. We propose to access the state of contamination of real surfaces under ambient conditions using advanced atomic force microscopy techniques.
ISSN:2190-4286
2190-4286
DOI:10.3762/bjnano.9.271