The interfacial properties of SAMs are decisive criteria for good lubricants which are significantly dependent upon their molecular structure, chain length, packing order, packing density, chemical composition, and molecular termination. The influence of the systematic variation of chain length of SAMs on the interfacial properties has been investigated in the present study. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of n-alkylcarboxylic acids have been grown on single crystalline surfaces of sapphire because the surfaces provide both physically and energetically homogeneous conditions for the formation of SAMs. An atomic force microscope (AFM) has been used for the measurements of interfacial friction and adhesion in the force range of 0 � 30 nN from monolayers. Bonding nature of a SAM monomer to a substrate surface and backbone chain ordering of SAM has been also explored with Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFT).

Chain length dependence tribological properties of self-assembled monolayers of alkyl carboxylic acids

244th National Meeting (2012)

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