corner
corner
APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 80 » Issue 24
< Previous Article | Next Article >

Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 5357–5360 (1998)

Forces Measured between Hydrophobic Surfaces due to a Submicroscopic Bridging Bubble

Download: PDF (102 kB) Buy this article Export: BibTeX or EndNote (RIS)

Archie Carambassis, Louisa C. Jonker, Phil Attard*, and Mark W. Rutland†
School of Chemistry F11, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia

Received 6 February 1998; published in the issue dated 15 June 1998

See accompanying Physics Focus

Atomic force microscopy on hydrophobic microspheres in water reveals a strong attraction with a range of 20–200 nm, following an initial steep repulsion at long range. The data are consistent with a single submicroscopic bubble between the surfaces, with the attraction due to its attachment and lateral spread, and the repulsion dependent on film drainage and the electric double layer. The results provide direct experimental evidence of the existence of long-lived submicron bubbles, and of their bridging as the cause of the measured long-range attractions between macroscopic hydrophobic surfaces.

© 1998 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.5357
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.5357
PACS:
61.16.Ch, 68.10.Cr, 68.15.+e, 82.65.Dp

*Present address: Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, The Levels, SA 5095, Australia.

†Present address: Surface Force Group Chemistry Department, Royal Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 5607, 114 86, Stockholm, Sweden.

 
< Previous Article | Next Article >