CONTRIBUTION OF THE VAN-DER-WAALS FORCES TO THE WORK OF ADHESION AT METAL OXIDE INTERFACES/

The van der Waals contribution to the work of adhesion at metal/oxide interfaces is analytically derived within the framework of a dielectri c continuum model. Calculated estimates are shown to reproduce nicely the trends deduced from measurements of the overall adhesion energy, i ndicating that van der Waals forces play a significant role in the adh esion mechanism. The relative contribution of the van der Waals intera ction in the work of adhesion is discussed and is shown to be possibly important when low-density metals and large band-gap oxides are conce rned.