Investigations of copper nanoparticles, amorphous solid water films, and alkylsilane thin self-assembled monolayers by atomic force microscopy

The investigations presented in this dissertation demonstrate through noncontact (NC) AFM measurements that the deposition of copper on thin (∼3.7 nm) amorphous solid water (ASW) buffer layers results in the formation of uniform and homogenous Cu nanoparticles on MgO surfaces, when the ASW layers are desorbed. The size of Cu nanoparticles produced by this method is independent of copper coverage in the range of 0.5 ML to 1.0 ML. The copper nanoparticles exhibit sinter-resistive properties at temperatures as high as 750 K under UHV conditions. The resistance to sintering is attributed to the presence of surface hydroxyls induced by the dissociative adsorption of water molecules on the MgO surface.; NC AFM measurements have shown that flat and smooth layers of ASW form on the MgO surface upon exposure of water molecules at 100 K under UHV conditions. Upon annealing above 140 K, ASW crystallizes and nucleates to form 3D clusters of cubic ice, resulting in a significant increase in surface roughness. The extent of surface roughness increase, the influence of solid water thickness, the effect of deposition temperature, and the surface morphological origin of previous "molecular volcano" experiments have also been investigated by NC AFM.; Deposition studies of copper onto ASW layers have demonstrated that the nanoparticle size, number density, and morphology depend on the thickness of ASW layers and on the annealing rate of the Cu/ASW/MgO system in the temperature range from 100 K to 300 K. This effect is attributed to the translational diffusion of water molecules during the nucleation and crystallization within the ASW layers.; Finally, the characterization of the friction and adhesion properties of alkylsilane self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) synthesized on silicon substrates by a variety of methods has been performed by contact AFM. These properties have been explored on the nanometer scale using AFM in ambient air and as a function of temperature under UHV conditions. The density of the SAMs on silicon varies as a function of preparation method and in turn results in systematic variations in friction and adhesion.