Pavel B. Paramonov | Searcharxiv

arXiv2005

Free energy analysis of system comprising biased atomic force microscope tip, water meniscus and dielectric surface

We are concerned with free energy analysis of the system comprising an AFM tip, water meniscus, and polymer film. Under applied electrostatic potential, the minimum in free energy is at a distance greater than the initial tip--substrate separation in the absence of potential. This equilibrium distance, t_0, mostly depends on the tip bias V and cantilever spring constant k_s, where as variations of t_0 is less pronounced with respect to the dielectric constants, and polymer film thickness. Polarization of water meniscus under the AFM tip appears to be the dominant factor enabling the creation of mechanical work for tip retraction.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2005

Density functional description of water condensation in proximity of nanoscale asperity

We apply non-local density functional formalism to describe an equilibrium distribution of the water-like fluid in the asymmetric nanoscale junction presenting an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip dwelling above an arbitrary surface. The hydrogen bonding dominating in intermolecular attraction is modeled as a square well potential with two adjustable parameters (energy and length) characterizing well's depth and width. A water meniscus formed inside nanoscale junction is explicitly described for different humidity. Furthermore, we suggest a simple approach using polymolecular adsorption isotherms for the evaluation of an energetic parameter characterizing fluid (water) attraction to substrate. This model can be easily generalized for more complex geometries and effective intermolecular potentials. Our study establishes a framework for the density functional description of fluid with orientational anisotropy induced by non-uniform external electric field.

physics.chem-ph↗