Nanomechanical Properties Analysis on Polymer Blend Surfaces by Atomic Force Microscopy

Applying force-distance curve measurement by atomic force microscopy to a theoretical mechanical model gives us elastic properties of polymer surfaces. Our group focuses on force-mapping method, in which force-distance curve is performed at each lattice point on a sample surface and subsequently a variety of properties derived from analytical results are combined to construct a 2-dimensional image. With this method we succeeded in deriving Young' s modulus distribution map method of rubbery/rubbery polymer blend surfaces with ${\sim}100\;nm$ lateral resolution. We also applied force-mapping method to another theory to divide distribution of hardness from that of adhesion. We will demonstrate recent progress.