ABSTRACT
The surface free energy of the self-assembled monolayer of hexadecanethiol was calculated to be in the range of 24.28 ± 6.61 to 26.93 ± 9.57 mJ/m2 using the measured pull-off force values. The surface free energy values calculated from AFM pull-off force measurements matched our calculated values from the Lewis acid-base interfacial free energy theory using the contact angle measurements made in our laboratory (24.6 ± 0.9 mJ/m2). The experimentally determined surface free energy values were in between the literature values reported from contact angle measurements (18-19 mJ/m2) and direct pull-off force measurements (25-30 mJ/m2).
