Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 3, 2026
Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method
Published on: June 14, 2019
Imaging the condensation and evaporation of molecularly thin ethanol films with surface forces apparatus
Gutian Zhao1, Qiyan Tan1, Li Xiang1
1Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, School of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China.
Abstract:
A new method for imaging condensation and evaporation of molecularly thin ethanol films is reported. It is found that the first adsorbed layer of ethanol film on mica surface behaves as solid like structure that cannot flow freely. With the increase of exposure time, more ethanol molecules condense over the mica surface in the saturated ethanol vapor condition. The first layer of adsorbed ethanol film is about 3.8 Å thick measured from the surface forces apparatus, which is believed to be the average diameter of ethanol molecules while they are confined in between two atomically smooth mica surfaces.
