Tapping-mode AFM (TM-AFM) phase imaging was utilized to characterize the surface changes of nanosize particles, in regard to the effects of different amounts of condensed water and organic coatings on particle surfaces. Model nanoparticles were continuously examined under various relative humidity (RH) levels by concurrently obtaining both topographic and phase images. The condensed water appeared to soften particle surfaces and to increase tip-sample attractive interaction over relatively stiff surfaces, which were shown with dark phase contrasts and negative phase shift values in phase images. Under high RH, a massive amount of water gave the particles a droplet-like surface, which reversed the original negative phase shifts to positive values with bright contrasts. Glutaricacid coatings provided a compliant surface with high viscosity resulting in a dark phase contrast, whereas water droplets containing relatively low viscosity gave a bright phase contrast and positive phase shift. Overall, our results show that it is essential to describe the physical properties of a sample surface as solid, soft, or droplet-like material in order to derive a meaningful understanding of the surface changes of nanosize particles based on TM-AFM phase images. In contrast to other phase imaging studies, this work clearly correlates continuous surface changes with phase images, demonstrating a promising approach to characterize environmental nanoparticles.
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