Interaction between substrate and probe in liquid metal Ga: Experimental and theoretical analysis

TL;DR

This study combines experimental atomic force microscopy and theoretical statistical mechanics to analyze the complex interactions between probe and substrate in liquid gallium, revealing oscillatory behaviors and asymmetries based on surface affinities.

Contribution

It provides new experimental and theoretical insights into probe-substrate interactions in liquid metals, highlighting the effects of solvophilic and solvophobic properties.

Findings

Unusual oscillations and large amplitudes in interactions

Long-range interaction behaviors observed

Asymmetric interaction tendencies based on surface affinity

Abstract

Understanding the interaction between two bodies in a liquid metal is important for developing metals with high stiffness, strength, plasticity, and thermal stability. We conducted atomic force microscopy measurements in liquid Ga and performed a theoretical calculation in which the statistical mechanics of a simple liquid containing a quantum effect was used. The experiment and theory showed unusual behaviours in the interactions between the probe and substrate in the liquid metal. In the interactions, there were relatively numerous oscillations and large amplitudes. Furthermore, the interaction ranges were relatively long. From the theoretical calculations, we found an asymmetric property that when the probe is solvophilic and the substrate is solvophobic, the interaction tends to be repulsive; when the solvation affinities are exchanged, the interaction tends to be attractive in the close position. Our findings will be useful for understanding and controlling dispersion stabilities of nanoparticles and chemical reactions in liquid metals.