| Abstract
| - A model developed previously to analyze force measurements between two deformable droplets in the atomic forcemicroscope [Langmuir2005, 21, 2912−2922] is used to model the drainage of an aqueous film between a mica plateand a deformable mercury drop for both repulsive and attractive electrical double-layer interactions between the micaand the mercury. The predictions of the model are compared with previously published data [Faraday Discuss. 2003,123, 193−206] on the evolution of the aqueous film whose thickness has been measured with subnanometer precision.Excellent agreement is found between theoretical results and experimental data. This supports the assumptions madein the model which include no-slip boundary conditions at both interfaces. Furthermore, the successful fit attests tothe utility of the model as a tool to explore details of the drainage mechanisms of nanometer-thick films in whichfluid flow, surface deformations, and colloidal forces are all involved. One interesting result is that the model canpredict the time at which the aqueous film collapses when attractive mica−mercury forces are present without theneed to invoke capillary waves or other local instabilities of the mercury/electrolyte interface.
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