- Author
-
Gu, X.
|
Raghavan, D.
|
Nguyen, T.
|
VanLandingham, M. R.
- Title
- Characterization of Polyester Degradation Using Tapping Mode Atomic Force Microscopy.
- Coporate
- Howard Univ., Washington, DC
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Book or Conf
- Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) Fall Meeting. Volume 83. Proceedings. American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering. August 20-24, 2000,
American Chemical Society, Washington, DC,
Washington, DC,
336-337 p.,
2000
- Keywords
-
microscopy
|
coatings
|
degradation
|
heterogeneity
|
nanoindentation
|
phase imaging
- Identifiers
- Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
- Abstract
- Tapping mode AFM was used to examine the microstructure of polyester films before and after exposure to an alkaline solution. Bright-colored microgel domains and dark-colored interstitial regions were observed in phase images of the unexposed samples. The microstructure of polyester film was substantially changed after exposure. More and deeper pits were observed on the sample surfaces with increasing exposure time. Phase imaging and force curves indicated that the properties of the regions in the degradation pits are significantly different from those of undegraded regions. The localized nature of pit initiation and propagation is believed to result from the heterogeneity of the polyester film.