Journal
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
Volume 95, Issue 18, Pages -Publisher
AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.187801
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Nanometer-sized columns of condensed water molecules are formed by an atomic-resolution force microscope operated in ambient conditions. An unusual stepwise decrease of the force gradient associated with the ultrathin water bridge in the tip-substrate gap is observed during its stretch, exhibiting regularity in step heights (approximate to 0.5 N/m) and plateau lengths (approximate to 1 nm). Such quantized elasticity is indicative of an atomic-scale stick slip at the tip-water interface. A thermodynamic-instability-induced rupture of the water meniscus (5 nm long and 2.6 nm wide) is also found. This work opens a high-resolution study of the structure and interface dynamics of a nanometric aqueous column.
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