AFM manipulation of EGaIn microdroplets to generate controlled, on-demand contacts on molecular self-assembled monolayers

Liquid metal droplets, such as eutectic Gallium-Indium (EGaIn), are important in many research areas, such as soft electronics, catalysis, and energy storage. Droplet contact on solid surfaces is typically achieved without control over the applied force and without optimizing the wetting properties in different environments (e.g., in air or liquid), resulting in poorly defined contact areas. In this work, we demonstrate the direct manipulation of EGaIn microdroplets using an atomic force microscope (AFM) to generate repeated, on-demand making and breaking of contact on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols. The nanoscale positional control and feedback loop in an AFM allow us to control the contact force at the nanonewton levels and, consequently, tune the droplet contact areas at the micrometer length scale in both air and ethanol. When submerged in ethanol, the droplets are highly non-wetting, resulting in hysteresis-free contact forces and minimal adhesion; as a result, we are able to create reproducible geometric contact areas of between 0.8–4.5 μm2 with the alkanethiolate SAMs in ethanol. In contrast, there is a larger hysteresis in the contact forces and larger adhesion for the same EGaIn droplet in air, which reduced the control over the contact area (4–12 μm2). We demonstrate the usefulness of the technique and of the gained insights in EGaIn contact mechanics by making well-defined molecular tunnelling junctions based on alkanethiolate SAMs with small geometric contact areas of between 4 and 12 μm2 in air, one to two orders of magnitude smaller than previously achieved.