KTH Chemical Science and Engineering Nanotribology, Surface Interactions and Characterization: An AFM Study Rubén Álvarez-Asencio Doctoral Thesis at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm 2014 Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan framlägges till offentling granskning för avläggande av teknologie doctorsexamen den 13 juni 2014 kl 10 i hörstal F3, KTH Lindstedtsvägen 26, Stockholm. Avhandling presenteras på engelska. Nanotribology, Surface Interactions and Characterization: An AFM Study Rubén Álvarez-Asencio (
[email protected] ) Doctoral Thesis TRITA-CHE Report 2014:13 ISSN 1654-1081 ISBN 978-91-7595-102-7 KTH Royal Institute of Technology School of Chemical Science and Engineering Surface and Corrosion Science Drottning Kristinas väg 51 SE-100 44 Stockholm Sweden ii Denna avhandling är skyddad enligt upphovsrättslagen. Alla rättigheter förbehålles. Copyright © 2014 Rubén Álvarez-Asencio. All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means without permission from the author. The following items are reprinted with permission: Paper I: Copyright © American Chemical Society Paper II: Copyright © AIP Publishing LLC Paper III: Copyright © Springer Printed at US-AB, Stockholm 2014 iii “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference”. Reinhold Niebuhr iv To Antonio, Ángeles, Antonio-José and Alejandro v Abstract When two surfaces achieve contact, then contact phenomena such as adhesion, friction and wear can occur, which are of great interest in many disciplines, including physics, physical chemistry, material chemistry, and life and health sciences. These phenomena are largely determined by the nature and magnitude of the surface forces such as van der Waals, capillary and hydration forces.