Effect of humidity and temperature on nano/microtribolgical properties of perfluorinated carboxylic acid and hydrogenated carboxylic acid self‐assembled monolayers deposited on aluminum‐coated silicon substrate

Two series of perfluorinated carboxylic acid (FC) and hydrogenated carboxylic acid (HC) self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) films were prepared on aluminum surfaces separately by chemical vapor deposition. The formation, structure and morphology of these films were characterized by measuring contact angle with ellipsometric method, x‐ray photoelectron spectrometry, and atomic force microscopy, respectively. FC and HC SAMs with long chains formed more densely packed films than those with short chains did. The comparative micro/nanoscale friction and adhesive properties of FC and HC SAMs, with various chain lengths on aluminum‐coated silicon substrate, were investigated. The influence of environmental conditions, such as relative humidity (RH) and temperature, on the friction and adhesion behavior was studied. Micro/nanotribological properties of the films were greatly influenced by their backbones and terminal groups. FC SAMs with long chain exhibited adhesion‐resistance, friction reduction, and environmental independence. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.