Phosphonate self-assembled monolayers on aluminum surfaces
- LMCH, IMX, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)
Substrates of aluminum (Al) deposited by physical vapor deposition onto Si substrates and then chemically reacted with perfluorodecylphosphonic acid (PFDP/Al/Si), decylphosphonic acid (DP/Al/Si), and octadecylphosphonic acid (ODP/Al/Si) were studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and friction force microscopy, a derivative of AFM, to characterize their surface chemical composition, roughness, and micro-/nanotribological properties. XPS analysis confirmed the presence of perfluorinated and nonperfluorinated alkylphosphonate molecules on the PFDP/Al/Si, DP/Al/Si, and ODP/Al/Si. The sessile drop static contact angle of pure water on PFDP/Al/Si was typically more than 130 deg. and on DP/Al/Si and ODP/Al/Si typically more than 125 deg. indicating that all phosphonic acid reacted Al/Si samples were very hydrophobic. The surface roughness for PFDP/Al/Si, DP/Al/Si, ODP/Al/Si, and bare Al/Si was approximately 35 nm as determined by AFM. The surface energy for PFDP/Al/Si was determined to be approximately 11 mN/m by the Zisman plot method compared to 21 and 20 mN/m for DP/Al/Si and ODP/Al/Si, respectively. Tribology involves the measure of lateral forces due to friction and adhesion between two surfaces. Friction, adhesion, and wear play important roles in the performance of micro-/nanoelectromechanical systems. PFDP/Al/Si gave the lowest adhesion and coefficient of friction values while bare Al/Si gave the highest. The adhesion and coefficient of friction values for DP/Al/Si and ODP/Al/Si were comparable.
- OSTI ID:
- 20783272
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 124, Issue 17; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2186311; (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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