Atomic force microscopy of mica surface after ion replacement

Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), is the newest, and potentially most powerful of the scanning probe microscopes. The (AFM) is capable of resolutions approaching atomic dimensions on ideal surfaces. One of the favorite such surfaces is that of mica. Muscovite mica has a platelike structure consisting of an octahedral alumina sheet sandwiched by two tetrahedral silicate sheets. As a result of this structure, mica cleaves readily along a plane leaving a molecularly smooth surface. Because of the isomorphous substitution of the tetravalent silicon by trivalent aluminium, mica has an excess negative surface charge. This negative surface charge of 2.1-1014 charges per cm2 is neutralized by an equal number of positive monovalent ions, mainly potassium ions. The ion-exchangable surface ions of mica, in aqueous solution, can be readily replaced by other monovalent or multivalent ions. This ion exchange alters the surface of the mica. We then follow these changes by imaging with the AFM in air.