Electric charge of nanopatterned silica surfaces

Abstract

The surface charge density of a nanopatterned silica decreased at the pits but increased at the tips of surface patterns. For a case of self-repeating surface structures, the average of local surface charges becomes lower than the theoretical predictions. Our phenomenological model developed as an extension to the existing flat surface theory predicts the average surface charge on a nanopatterned surface as a function of surface pattern size, ionic concentration and pH.