Langmuir, Vol.21, No.1, 251-255, 2005
Measurement of the long- and short-range hydrophobic attraction between surfactant-coated surfaces
We have measured the attractive long-range 'hydrophobic' forces in water between double-chained surfactant monolayers physisorbed on mica. We used both normal and high-speed video cameras to follow the dynamics and possible rate-dependence of force-distance profiles in the distance regime from 1000 Angstrom to adhesive contact, including the short-distance regime below 100 Angstrom-the regime of greatest biological interest. We find that the hydrophobic interaction follows a double-exponential function down to separations of similar to50 Angstrom, after which point the attractive force appears to become considerably stronger.