Variations of the Lifshitz–van der Waals force between metals immersed in liquids

Abstract

We present a theoretical calculation of the Lifshitz-van der Waals force between two metallic slabs embedded in a fluid, taking into account the change of the Drude parameters of the metals when in contact with liquids of different index of refraction. For the three liquids considered in this work, water, CCl 3 F and CBr 3 F the change in the Drude parameters of the metal imply a difference of up to 15% in the determination of the force at short separations. These variations in the force is bigger for liquids with a higher index of refraction.

Atomic force microscope measurements andLCAO−S2 + vdW calculations of contact length between a carbon nanotube and a graphene surface

“…This could explain why the results agree without the need for ultrahigh vacuum for surface-state control. Moreover, even if a thin liquid layer remains on the substrate, one can estimate a screening between 10% and 15% of the vdW contributions 49,79,80 leading to a decrease of the calculated values in vacuum of only a few tens of a millielectron volt. Such a film would also have an impact on the mechanical response of the tube when it approaches the surface, and the presence of a meniscus would modify the measured force.…”

Repulsive and attractive Casimir interactions in liquids

“…Nothing changes in the dielectric functions of bodies immersed in liquids. On the other hand, several experiments verified that when metals are placed in liquids, there is a variation of Drude parameters in the metal [23]. The discrepacy of the interaction between "dry" and "wet" can reach to 15 % in this case.…”