Eur. Phys. J. E (2009) 30: 431-438
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2009-10544-1

Regular Article

High-resolution ellipsometric studies on fluid interfaces

¹ Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14476, Golm, Germany
² Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, University Paris-Sud, F-91405, Orsay Cedex, France

^* e-mail: stocco@lps.u-psud.fr

Received: 13 August 2009
Accepted: 13 November 2009
Published online: 12 December 2009

Abstract

In this article, highly accurate experimental results reveal the interfacial profile between different macroscopic fluid phases. The deviation from a step profile, quantified by the ellipsometric quantity J₁, shows a strong correlation with the cohesive energy quantified by the Gordon parameter G . Surprisingly, at high values of G , J ₁( < 0) deviates significantly from any predictions. Findings for water and water-like interfaces can be interpreted in terms of the strength of hydrogen bonding at the surface.