Experimental three-dimensional description of the liquid hexadecane/graphite interface.
By using an atomic force microscope based on a quartz tuning fork sensor, a 3-dimensional description of the interface between liquid hexadecane and a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface can be achieved at room temperature. The C16H34 monolayer in contact with the substrate surface exhibits a lamellar structure whereas no observation at the liquid/graphite interface by scanning tunnelling microscopy was reported for this alkane. The second layer shows very weak corrugations corresponding to lamella boundaries. Force/distance curves show at least four oscillations separated by 0.4 nm except for the first period with a 0.38 nm distance that corresponds to the layer closer the substrate. Such a description agrees well with molecular dynamics results obtained on alkane/solid interfaces.
Van
L Pham
LP
CEA-Saclay, bat. 462, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France.
Kyrylyuk
V
V
Polesel-Maris
J
J
Thoyer
F
F
Lubin
C
C
Cousty
J
J
D000473:Alkanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D004566:Electrodes; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D016252:Microscopy, Scanning Tunneling; D011791:Quartz; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
D000473:Alkanes; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011791:Quartz; D006108:Graphite; C007932:n-hexadecane