Paper detail

Adhesion energy of single wall carbon nanotube loops on various substrates

The physics of adhesion of one-dimensional nano structures such as nanotubes, nano wires, and biopolymers on different material substrates is of great interest for the study of biological adhesion and the development of nano electronics and nano mechanics. In this paper, we present force spectroscopy experiments of a single wall carbon nanotube loop using our home-made interferometric atomic force microscope. Characteristic force plateaux during the peeling process allows us to access to quantitative values of the adhesion energy per unit length on various substrates: graphite, mica, platinum, gold and silicon. By combining a time-frequency analysis of the deflexion of the cantilever, we access to the dynamic stiffness of the contact, providing more information on the nanotube configurations and its intrinsic mechanical properties.