The effect of the nature of silica substrate surfaces on the adhesion of apatite thin films

Abstract

Computer simulations of the adhesion of complex phosphate thin films to a range of different silica substrates suggest that the nature of the substrate surface is not only crucial to the structure and strength of adhesion of thin films, but more interestingly, that reactive surfaces do not necessarily lead to stable thin films. On the contrary, we found that stable planes are the better substrates for the formation of regular and stable interfaces—a finding which is counter-intuitive and increases our understanding of solid/solid interfaces and thin films.