Coil-to-Bridge Transitions of Self-Assembled Water Chains Observed in a Nanoscopic Meniscus

Ten downward portions in the large oscillatory force–distance curve reported earlier are analyzed to understand a nanoscale water meniscus confined between a sharp probe and a flat substrate in air. The sigmoidal shape of each portion leads to the assumption that the meniscus is made up of n indepen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Langmuir 2022-04, Vol.38 (15), p.4538-4546
Main Authors: Kim, Byung I, Boehm, Ryan D, Agrusa, Harrison
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Ten downward portions in the large oscillatory force–distance curve reported earlier are analyzed to understand a nanoscale water meniscus confined between a sharp probe and a flat substrate in air. The sigmoidal shape of each portion leads to the assumption that the meniscus is made up of n independent transitions of two states: one for a coil state and the other for a bridge state. The analysis reveals that each downward portion occurs due to a coil-to-bridge transition of n self-assembled water chains whose length ranges between 197 and 383 chain units. The transition provides novel insights into water’s unique properties like high surface tension and the long-range condensation distances.
ISSN:0743-7463
1520-5827
DOI:10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c03100