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Updated: Jun 18, 2026
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Fabrication and Visualization of Capillary Bridges in Slit Pore Geometry
Published on: January 9, 2014
Capillary liquid bridges in atomic force microscopy: formation, rupture, and hysteresis
Yumei Men1, Xianren Zhang, Wenchuan Wang
1Division of Molecular and Materials Simulation, Key Laboratory for Nanomaterials, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|November 18, 2009
Summary
This study uses constrained lattice density functional theory to model liquid bridge stability in atomic force microscopy (AFM). The research quantifies energy barriers for liquid bridge formation and rupture, explaining AFM hysteresis.
Area of Science:
- Surface science
- Nanotechnology
- Physical chemistry
Background:
- Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements are influenced by liquid bridges.
- Liquid bridge formation and rupture can be equilibrium or nonequilibrium processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To theoretically investigate the stability of liquid bridges in AFM.
- To identify stable, metastable, and transition states of liquid bridges.
- To calculate energy barriers for liquid bridge formation and rupture.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing constrained lattice density functional theory.
- Stabilizing liquid bridges with varying radii at fixed tip-substrate distances.
- Calculating energy barriers for liquid bridge formation and rupture.
Main Results:
- Identified stable, metastable, and transition states for liquid bridges.
- Calculated energy barriers for liquid bridge formation and rupture.
- Force-distance curves qualitatively match experimental AFM observations.
Conclusions:
- The constrained method accurately models liquid bridge stability and AFM hysteresis.
- Energy barriers depend on tip-sample distance, humidity, and tip-fluid interactions.
- Provides theoretical insights into AFM measurements in humid environments.
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