3 research outputs found
Structural Changes in Acetophenone Fluid Films as a Function of Nanoscale Thickness
We
report experimental observations of a developing fluid/solid
interface by examining acetophenone films of varying thicknesses,
supported on solid silver substrates. A dynamic wetting technique
provides experimental control of fluid film thickness, as a function
of rotational velocity. Ellipsometry and infrared reflection absorption
spectroscopy data are analyzed to provide absolute film thickness
and details of the changing chemical environment for varying film
thickness. These data are compared to theoretical models that predict
fluid film thicknesses, based on physical-chemical properties of the
acetophenone/silver pair. As the velocity of the substrate is varied
from 0.003 cm s<sup>â1</sup> to 1.872 cm s<sup>â1</sup>, the fluid filmâs thickness changes from a ca. 200 nm to
2 Îźm. This increase in film thickness with increasing velocity
follows a Landau trend, which is linear with respect to velocity<sup>2/3</sup>. Our data also show clear evidence of molecular orientation
changes, as a function of film thickness, which occur as the thinner
films are increasingly comprised of acetophenone molecules within
a confined, interfacial environment. The spectral changes for the
thinnest fluid films (<100 nm) are shown to exhibit features similar
to transmission Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) data of frozen acetophenone,
suggesting that these films are highly ordered, as a result of their
nanometer-scale confinement
Effects of Fluid Confinement and Temperature in Supported Acetophenone Films
Solidâliquid
phase transitions are thought to be well understood
in bulk phases of matter, but in thin films or interfacial volumes,
melting and freezing transitions can exhibit significant departures
from expected behaviors. Here, we show multiple solidâliquid
phase transitions in thin films (50â500 nm) of the molecular
fluid acetophenone. Transitions are driven by both geometric confinement
and temperature, as characterized by spectroscopy. Fluid film confinement
is controlled by systematic variation of the supported film thicknesses,
and the same films are passed through coolingâheating cycles
to generate amorphous or crystalline films with distinctly different
molecular environments. Specifically, multiple temperature cycles
reveal a distinct conditioning dependence, wherein phase transitions
may or may not exhibit significant changes in the infrared absorption
profile over the temperature cycle, indicating distinct crystalline
and liquid-like phases. Significant effects of supercooling are also
observed as a result of the highly confined nature of the thin-film
sampling geometry. Interestingly, the spectral profiles recorded as
a function of film temperature show clear evidence of molecular reordering
phase transitions, which is similar to observations in variable thickness
films held at constant temperature. The changes in spectral absorption
profiles confirm the confinement-induced crystalline ordering and
provide evidence that molecular confinement effects can extend beyond
100 nm from a surface, which is much larger than conventionally accepted
âinterfacialâ volumes. Ultimately, the extended crystalline
ordering within liquid films could offer important new avenues to
tune the physical properties of designer interfaces
Structure of Aqueous Water Films on Textured âOH-Terminated Self-Assembled Monolayers
We report the thickness and interfacial
molecular structure of
thin (1â3 nm) aqueous films supported on hydroxyl-terminated
self-assembled monolayers over a silver substrate. The water film
structure is studied as a function of varying the monolayerâs
methylene chain lengths. Analysis techniques include ellipsometry,
contact angle, and polarization modulation reflection adsorption infrared
spectroscopy. The aqueous film thicknesses follow 4-mercaptobutanol
(4-MBU) > 11-mercaptoundecanol (11-MUD) > 6-mercaptohexanol
(6-MHE)
> 9-mercaptononanol (9-MNO). Water contact angle measurements across
the same surfaces are very similar; however, vibrational spectroscopic
analysis of the films shows that intermolecular bonding patterns of
D<sub>2</sub>O are significantly different from those of bulk D<sub>2</sub>O. This evokes unique interfacial molecular architectures
for each of these films. The structural differences depend on the
nature of the SAM structure and resulting waterâSAM interactions,
which are evident from PM-IRRAS data. Spectroscopic peak intensity
ratios of νÂ(OâD) modes suggest more asymmetric hydrogen-bonded
D<sub>2</sub>O character near 9-MNO surfaces, whereas 4-MDU, 6-MHE,
and 11-MUD surfaces exhibit increasingly symmetric hydrogen-bonded
D<sub>2</sub>O character. From this, we propose a model for film structure