Hydrophilic @entity6619 wafers are studied against aqueous solutions of @entity14942 ( @entity14942 ) at concentrations between 0.05 mM up to 1 mM (CMC). AFM studies show that nanobubbles are formed at concentrations up to 0.4 mM. From 0.5 mM upward, no bubbles could be detected. This is interpreted as the formation of hydrophobic domains of surfactant aggregates, becoming hydrophilic at about 0.5 mM. The high contact angle of the nanobubbles (140-150   through water) indicates that the nanobubbles are located on the surfactant domains. A combined imaging and colloidal probe AFM study serves to highlight the surfactant patches adsorbed at the surface via nanobubbles. The nanobubbles have a diameter between 30 and 60 nm (after tip deconvolution), depending on the surfactant concentration. This corresponds to a Laplace pressure of about 30 atm. The presence of the nanobubbles is correlated with force measurements between a @entity3440 probe and a @entity6619 wafer surface. The study is a contribution to the better understanding of the short-range attraction between hydrophilic surfaces exposed to a surfactant solution.

Scanning of XXXX wafers in contact with aqueous CTAB solutions below the CMC.

@entity3440 :: ('MESH:D012822', 'Chemical') :: ['silica'] @entity6619 :: ('MESH:D012825', 'Chemical') :: ['silicon'] @entity14942 :: ('MESH:C004322', 'Chemical') :: ['hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide', 'CTAB']
@entity6619 :: (MESH:D012825,Chemical) :: ['silicon']
