Hemispherical curvature of the water-air interface induced by surface self assembly.
Films at the liquid air interface are traditionally believed to be flat, however the thermodynamics of self assembly are much larger than gravitational penalties so it is speculated that if a surface active molecule has the right curvature, it will bend and buckle the liquid air interface. Such an observaton has not been made before. Indirect evidence for this comes from Vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy, Langmuir Blodgett measurement and AFM imaging of deposited layers. The molecules in question are those found at the surface of hair and wool, and they form the outermost biological barrier.They are implicated in chain fluidity, bacteriostaticity and adhesion. Study of the interfacial self assembly is therefore crucial to understand the hotly debated role of this unique chemistry. Test measurements incorporating both specular reflectivity GISANS deployed on FIGARO were successful and indicate that the experiments are feasible. Further experiments are needed to provide systematic data revealing the length scales and mechanisms.
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Mark W. Rutland; BERGENDAL Erik; Richard A. Campbell; MUELLER BUSCHBAUM Peter and Georgia A Pilkington. (2017). Hemispherical curvature of the water-air interface induced by surface self assembly.. Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) doi:10.5291/ILL-DATA.9-10-1487
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