ABSTRACT
Surfaces and interfaces occur everywhere in nature, from biological cells to the vast expanse of oceans. They play a key role in nanoscience since they are often used as platforms for the growth of nanomaterials. Understanding nanomaterials would therefore not be complete without covering important elements of surface science. Interfaces represent the two-dimensional plane between two different bulk phases of matter, such as oil and water. We will describe a surface as an interface where one of the bulk phases is a gas, usually air. Physical and chemical processes occurring at such regions tend to be very different from corresponding processes in the bulk phase as such processes are confined to a region in which one dimension is on the nanoscale order. For instance, a special interaction known as the hydrophobic effect influences chemistry at surfaces, often responsible for the formation of films of nanoscale thickness. In this chapter, a consideration of hydrophobicity and the surface energy of solids and liquids will lead to a discussion of contact angles and wetting phenomena. This naturally leads to a discussion of self-assembled monolayers and adsorption phenomena. An understanding of how intermolecular interactions influence the adsorption and aggregation of molecules into nanostructures (such as micelles) is provided by considering the amphiphilic nature of surfactant molecules.
