Influence of humidity on the nanoadhesion between a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic surface

The adhesion force between a silicon nitride tip and a 1-dodecanethiol monolayer have been measured at different loading rates and different humidity. A way to extract the kinetic and interaction potential parameters for a single molecule interaction is demonstrated. The effect of the increase of van der Waals interaction strength per molecule with increasing humidity is explained by assuming a gradual adsorption of water into the tip surface hollows. The study should help in better understanding of the humidity effect on molecular level and in avoiding the underestimation of adhesion forces in micro- and nano-engineering in ambient conditions.