Effect of nanobubbles on friction forces between hydrophobic surfaces in water

The interaction between hydrophobic surfaces in aqueous solutions is particularly important because it is encountered in many industrial processes. Even though advances in surface science have been tremendous, the nature of the hydrophobic interaction remains one of the greatest challenges to the field. In this work an atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to measure the normal and lateral interactions between a silica bead and a smooth silica substrate hydrophobized by esterification with 1-octanol. The experiments were performed in water and in water after alcohol–water exchange, a method that has been shown to increase the occurrence and size of nanobubbles at the hydrophobic surface and in turn result in a longer range hydrophobic force due to capillary bridge formation. It was found that the alcohol–water exchange had a significant impact on the friction force due to the increased size of the capillary, which increased adhesion.

Graphical abstractThe effect of alcohol–water exchange on the friction force between esterified silica surfaces in water as a function of load.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide