- Author
-
Gu, X.
|
VanLandingham, M. R.
|
Raghavan, D.
|
Nguyen, T.
- Title
- Mapping Heterogeneity in Polymeric Materials Using Atomic Force Microscopy: Phase Imaging and Nanoindentation.
- Coporate
- Howard Univ., Washington, DC
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Book or Conf
- Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE). Spring Meeting. Volume 82. Proceedings. American Chemical Society (ASME). March 26-30, 2000,
American Chemical Society, Washington, DC,
San Francisco, CA,
50-51 p.,
2000
- Keywords
-
microscopy
|
coatings
|
degradation
|
heterogeneity
|
nanoindentation
|
phase imaging
- Identifiers
- Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
- Abstract
- Polymer coatings are heterogeneous and often contain nanoscale degradation susceptible regions. Therefore, mapping and identification of these regions would provide essential information for understanding the mechanism of the degradation of polymeric coatings. A combination of phase imaging and nanoindentation in tapping mode FM has emerged as a powerful technique to provide direct mapping of surface morphology and identification of surface heterogeneity with nanometer resolution. The application of this technique for studying heterogeneity of unannealed and annealed poly(methyl methacrylate)/polybutadiene blends has been investigated. The effects of force level and annealing time on the phase image contrast and force curves are discussed. The results show that this combined technique can provide data to distinguish nano- and micro-scale heterogeneous domains in the blend films. The use of this technique for studying heterogeneity in a polyester film exposed to an alkaline solution is also presented.