Liquid Nanostripes

Equilibrium wetting of ethanol, a volatile liquid, onto chemically patterned nanostripes has been investigated using noncontact atomic force microscopy (AFM). The chemical patterns, generated by a conducting AFM tip, are composed of COOH terminated "wetting" regions and CH3 terminated "nonwetting" regions. Controlled amounts of ethanol, from the vapor phase, condense on the COOH stripes and their shape is imaged in situ versus their width (70 < w < 300 nm). The measured profile shapes at saturation and their w(1/2) height dependence are well described by density functional theory with dispersive, nonretarded potentials.