Size-dependent adhesion of nanoparticles on rough substrates

When the size of particles varies over the entire realm of nanotechnology, we find that surface forces can change by orders of magnitude depending on how surface interactions are influenced by the irregular fluctuations of rough surfaces at all length scales from atoms to microns. The length scales and roughness exponent define the distribution of asperities at points of contact and the adhesion that is maintained by van der Waals forces and contact deformation via asperities.