Real-time tracking of ionic nano-domains under shear flow (2021)
Journal Article
Cafolla, C., & Voïtchovsky, K. (2021). Real-time tracking of ionic nano-domains under shear flow. Scientific Reports, 11, Article 19540. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98137-y

The behaviour of ions at solid–liquid interfaces underpins countless phenomena, from the conduction of nervous impulses to charge transfer in solar cells. In most cases, ions do not operate as isolated entities, but in conjunction with neighbouring i... Read More about Real-time tracking of ionic nano-domains under shear flow.

Gold surface cleaning by etching polishing: Optimization of polycrystalline film topography and surface functionality for biosensing (2020)
Journal Article
Snopok, B., Laroussi, A., Cafolla, C., Voïtchovsky, K., Snopok, T., & Mirsky, V. M. (2021). Gold surface cleaning by etching polishing: Optimization of polycrystalline film topography and surface functionality for biosensing. Surfaces and Interfaces, 22, Article 100818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfin.2020.100818

Modern bio-chemical sensors rely on functional interfacial architectures with well-defined structural nano-motifs over a physical transducer. Gold-coated interfaces are of particular interest for their desirable chemical (functionalization) and optic... Read More about Gold surface cleaning by etching polishing: Optimization of polycrystalline film topography and surface functionality for biosensing.

Impact of water on the lubricating properties of hexadecane at the nanoscale (2020)
Journal Article
Cafolla, C., & Voïtchovsky, K. (2020). Impact of water on the lubricating properties of hexadecane at the nanoscale. Nanoscale, 12(27), 14504-14513. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0nr03642k

Fluid lubricants are routinely used to reduce friction in a wide range of applications, from car engines to machinery and hard-disk drives. However, their efficiency can be significantly influenced by the ambient conditions they are exposed to, in pa... Read More about Impact of water on the lubricating properties of hexadecane at the nanoscale.

Lubricated friction around nano-defects (2020)
Journal Article
Cafolla, C., Foster, W., & Voïtchovsky, K. (2020). Lubricated friction around nano-defects. Science Advances, 6(14), Article eaaz3673. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz3673

The lubrication properties of nano-confined liquids underpin countless natural and industrial processes. However, our current understanding of lubricated friction is still limited, especially for non-ideal interfaces exhibiting nanoscale chemical and... Read More about Lubricated friction around nano-defects.

A non-destructive method to calibrate the torsional spring constant of atomic force microscope cantilevers in viscous environments (2018)
Journal Article
Cafolla, C., Payam, A., & Voïtchovsky, K. (2018). A non-destructive method to calibrate the torsional spring constant of atomic force microscope cantilevers in viscous environments. Journal of Applied Physics, 124(15), Article 154502. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5046648

Calibration of the torsional spring constant of atomic force microscopy cantilevers is fundamental to a range of applications, from nanoscale friction and lubrication measurements to the characterization of micro-electromechanical systems and the res... Read More about A non-destructive method to calibrate the torsional spring constant of atomic force microscope cantilevers in viscous environments.

Substrate-led cholesterol extraction from supported lipid membranes (2018)
Journal Article
Miller, E., Voitchovsky, K., & Staykova, M. (2018). Substrate-led cholesterol extraction from supported lipid membranes. Nanoscale, 10(34), 16332-16342. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8nr03399d

The lipid membrane is a principal building block in biology, technology and industry, where it often occurs supported by other hydrophilic structures. Interactions with the support can affect the physical behavior of the membrane from the local organ... Read More about Substrate-led cholesterol extraction from supported lipid membranes.

Lubricating properties of single metal ions at interfaces (2018)
Journal Article
Cafolla, C., & Voïtchovsky, K. (2018). Lubricating properties of single metal ions at interfaces. Nanoscale, 10(25), 11831-11840. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8nr02859a

The behaviour of ionic solutions confined in nanoscale gaps is central to countless processes, from biomolecular function to electrochemistry, energy storage and lubrication. However, no clear link exists between the molecular-level behaviour of the... Read More about Lubricating properties of single metal ions at interfaces.

Direct observation of the dynamics of single metal ions at the interface with solids in aqueous solutions (2017)
Journal Article
Ricci, M., Trewby, W., Cafolla, M., & Voïtchovsky, K. (2017). Direct observation of the dynamics of single metal ions at the interface with solids in aqueous solutions. Scientific Reports, 7, Article 43234. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep43234

The dynamics of ions adsorbed at the surface of immersed charged solids plays a central role in countless natural and industrial processes such as crystal growth, heterogeneous catalysis, electrochemistry, or biological function. Electrokinetic measu... Read More about Direct observation of the dynamics of single metal ions at the interface with solids in aqueous solutions.

Sub-nanometer resolution imaging with amplitude-modulation atomic force microscopy in liquid (2016)
Journal Article
Miller, E., Trewby, W., Farokh Payam, A., Piantanida, L., Cafolla, C., & Voïtchovsky, K. (2016). Sub-nanometer resolution imaging with amplitude-modulation atomic force microscopy in liquid. Journal of Visualized Experiments, Article e54924. https://doi.org/10.3791/54924

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has become a well-established technique for nanoscale imaging of samples in air and in liquid. Recent studies have shown that when operated in amplitude-modulation (tapping) mode, atomic or molecular-level resolution ima... Read More about Sub-nanometer resolution imaging with amplitude-modulation atomic force microscopy in liquid.