Surface charge heterogeneities measured by atomic force microscopy

Unfavorable aggregation and deposition of colloidal particles in natural and engineered systems is still a subject of debate. Complicating factors such as surface roughness, secondary minimum aggregation, and the nature of discrete surface charge and surface potential make it difficult to attribute a specific cause to these phenomena. The presence of surface charge heterogeneity and its influence on interaction forces, which are responsible for aggregation and deposition, are studied in this work through the application of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Force-volume-mode AFM was used to map interaction forces on a surface and relate them to surface charge heterogeneities. The experimental system consisted of a silica plate and a standard silicon nitride AFM tip. Copper ions were used for sorption on the silica surface in order to modify the surface charge and cause charge reversal. Different concentrations of copper ions were selected to identify conditions of partial coverage of the silica surface. The pH and ionic strength of the solutions were varied, and the extension of the surface charge modification and its influence on the resulting interaction forces were monitored via AFM force measurements. Depending on the pH and ionic strength, the interaction force was found to change at certain regions on the surface from attraction to either weak or strong repulsion. Force imaging allowed the visual localization of zones of strong repulsive interaction that diminished in size with increasing ionic strength. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis was used to confirm the presence of copper on the surface. Local charge differences on a surface result in local differences in surface forces, not only in magnitude but also in direction. This behavior may explain the aggregation, deposition, and transport of colloidal particles under unfavorable chemical conditions.