Measurement of inter-particle forces by an interfacial force microscope

An inteffacial force microscope (IFM) was employed to measure the inter-particle forces between two individual glass beads with diameters varying from 8 to 20 μm. With the feedback function of IFM turned off, attractive forces were obtained. The forces varied in the range of 0.1-0.34 μN, and their validity was confirmed by a theoretical analysis of the van der Waals force between the same glass beads. With the feedback function switched on, no attractive forces between particles were detected by the IFM when the probe approached the sample substrate. This may be attributed to the dramatic change of the attractive forces within a very short separation distance and/or the relatively poor signal-to-noise ratio of the IFM.