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Science 26 March 1993:
Vol. 259. no. 5103, pp. 1883 - 1885
DOI: 10.1126/science.259.5103.1883
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Articles

The Mechanical Response of Gold Substrates Passivated by Self-Assembling Monolayer Films

Ross C. Thomas 1, J. E. Houston 2, Terry A. Michalske 2, and Richard M. Crooks 1

1 Department of Chemistry, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
2 Surface Science Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185

Interfacial force microscopy has been used to show that a single layer of self-assembling molecules adsorbed on a gold substrate can prevent adhesion between gold and a tungsten probe. The passivated gold is able to elastically support large repulsive loads, with plots of load versus deformation closely following the Hertzian model. The gold shear-stress threshold for plastic deformation is determined to be sim1 gigapascal, which is in agreement with the theoretical value for the intrinsic gold-lattice stability.

Submitted on October 13, 1992
Accepted on January 26, 1993


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