Preparation of stable silica surfaces for surface forces measurement

Template-Stripped Ultra-Smooth Aluminum Films (0.2 nm RMS) for the Surface Forces Apparatus

We present a method for the fabrication of ultra-smooth (0.2 nm RMS), aluminum substrates through template stripping (TS). The method relies on the use of mica as a template in combination with thermal evaporation of Al at high (>10 nm/s) rates under vacuum (≤1 × 10^-7 Torr). As a reactive metal, Al is usually not considered a viable option for TS off oxide templates. However, under these conditions, the adhesion between the Al film and mica is poor, enabling the removal of the template under water without any mica residue. We verify the absence of mica using atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements. We establish the suitability of these films for surface forces measurements. Multiple-bean interferometry in transmission yields high quality fringes allowing for the measurement of force-distance curves. The adhesion the films to mica is significantly higher than the adhesion of thermally evaporated Al (0.9 nm RMS). Preliminary results suggest that the TS-Al surface displays a higher corrosion resistance. The fabrication method will enable important experiments on this widely used material.

Surface anchoring of nematic liquid crystal on swollen polymer brush studied by surface forces measurement

Surface anchoring plays a fundamental role in controlling the molecular alignment of a bulk liquid crystal (LC). It has been previously shown that the pretilt angle of a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) can be controlled by changing the grafting density of a liquid crystalline polymer, poly(6-(4-methoxy-azobenzene-4'-oxy) hexyl methacrylate) (PMMAZO). In this study, the thickness of the swollen PMMAZO brush was measured by employing the surface forces apparatus (SFA). NLC 4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) and toluene were used as the solvents. It was shown that both 5CB and toluene were good solvents for PMMAZO. The repulsive force in 5CB appeared at D₀ = 98.2 ± 4.6 nm for high grafting density (HD) surfaces, and at 32.1 ± 4.5 nm for the low grafting density (LD) surfaces. These results indicated that the PMMAZO molecules extended nearly perpendicular to the HD surfaces, while they laid on the substrate for the LD surfaces. The interaction between 5CB and the mesogenic group of PMMAZO was stronger than that for toluene. These results could support the expected surface anchoring mechanism of 5CB by the PMMAZO brush.

Surface forces measurement for materials science

This article reviews the surface forces measurement as a novel tool for materials science. The history of the measurement is briefly described in the Introduction. The general overview covers specific features of the surface forces measurement as a tool for studying the solid-liquid interface, confined liquids and soft matter. This measurement is a powerful way for understanding interaction forces, and for characterizing (sometime unknown) phenomena at solid-liquid interfaces and soft complex matters. The surface force apparatus (SFA) we developed for opaque samples can study not only opaque samples in various media, but also electrochemical processes under various electrochemical conditions. Electrochemical SFA enables us to determine the distribution of counterions between strongly bound ones in the Stern layer and those diffused in the Gouy-Chapman layer. The shear measurement is another active area of the SFA research. We introduced a resonance method, i.e. the resonance shear measurement (RSM), that is used to study the effective viscosity and lubricity of confined liquids in their thickness from μm to contact. Advantages of these measurements are discussed by describing examples of each measurement. These studies demonstrate how the forces measurement is used for characterizing solid-liquid interfaces, confined liquids and reveal unknown phenomena. The readers will be introduced to the broad applications of the forces measurement in the materials science field.

Engineering the anchoring behavior of nematic liquid crystals on a solid surface by varying the density of liquid crystalline polymer brushes

Controlling the orientation of liquid crystal (LC) molecules towards contacting surfaces is a crucial requirement for the development of LC displays and passive electro-optical devices. Up to now, research has been focused on photo-responses of a LC azobenzene polymer system to obtain either planar or homeotropic orientation of LCs. It remains a challenge, however, to tune the polar angle of LC molecules on the solid surface and gain more insights about the polymer chain conformation extending in LC medium. Here, we deposit a liquid crystalline side chain polymer brush, poly(6-(4-methoxy-azobenzene-4'-oxy)hexyl methacrylate) (PMMAZO), onto the solid surface with film thickness varying between ∼3 nm and 13 nm; therefore, the grafting density of the brush layer ranges from 0.0219 to 0.0924 chains per nm2. When LCs are confined in hybrid cells with a top surface eliciting uniform homeotropic anchoring and a bottom surface covered by the PMMAZO brush, the out-of-plane polar angle of 4-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) on the brush layer gradually changes from ∼0° to ∼62° by simply increasing the grafting brush density. The surface forces apparatus (SFA) measurement is used to determine 5CB as a good solvent for the PMMAZO brush and understand the relationship between the chain conformation in 5CB and the anchoring behavior of LC molecules on the polymer brush layer. For high grafting density, the polymer chain in 5CB extends significantly away from the substrate, making the side chain mesogens on average almost parallel to the substrate; for the low-density case, the main chain extends in the narrow region around the surface for aligning the mesogens perpendicular to the substrate.