Measurement of Sub-Nanometer Lubricant Films Using Ultra-Thin Film Interferometry

The ultra-thin film interferometric method of measuring the thickness of very thin films in lubricated contacts has been refined so as to be able to measure films down to 0.3nm with a standard deviation of 0.15nm. The main remaining source of measurement variation for films below 3nm thick is the surface roughness of the contacting solids. This modified technique has been applied to study the film-forming properties of three fluids, hexadecane, a dilute solution of surfactant in hexadecane, and cyclohexane. Purified hexadecane shows a very slightly enhanced oil-film thickness below 1nm. The long-chain surfactant forms a boundary film 2nm thick. Cyclohexane behaves as though it forms a surface layer about 1nm thick with viscosity three times the bulk fluid viscosity.