Electrostatic interaction between mercaptoundecanoic-acid layers on gold and ZrO₂ surfaces

The physical properties of mercaptoundecanoic-acid layer formed on gold surfaces, which may affect the distribution of either gold particles adsorbed to the zirconium dioxide surface or vice versa, were investigated. To conduct this investigation, the surface forces were measured between the surfaces with respect to the salt concentration and pH value using atomic force microscope (AFM). The forces were quantitatively converted by the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory to the surface potential and charge density of surfaces. The converted-value dependence on the salt concentration and pH was described with the law of mass action, and the dependence was consistent with the theoretical prediction. It was found that the mercaptoundecanoic-acid layer had higher values for the surface charge densities and potentials than the ZrO₂ surfaces, which may be attributed to the ionized-functional-groups of the mercaptoundecanoic-acid layer.