Nitrogen nanobubbles and butane nanodroplets at Si(1 0 0)

Nanobubbles and nanodroplets were spontaneously formed at Si(1 0 0) in contact with nitrogen and butane saturated water, respectively. The topographic images obtained by tapping mode AFM were similar truncated nanospheres, but the phase images suggested that the nanobubbles were harder than the nanodroplets. The tip–sphere interactions showed the nanodroplets were much viscoelastic than the nanobubbles. The surface and three-phase contact line energies were estimated by analysis of the topographic images. The nanodroplet was stable, but the nanobubble was unstable in spite of the experimental long life. The two-dimensional spatial distribution indicated an attractive interaction between the nanodroplets, but no interaction was observed between the nanobubbles.