Contact resonance atomic force microscopy for viscoelastic characterization of polymer-based nanocomposites at variable temperature

Characterization of mechanical properties at the nanometer scale at variable temperature is one of the main\udchallenges in the development of polymer-based nanocomposites for application in high temperature environments. Contact\udresonance atomic force microscopy (CR-AFM) is a powerful technique to characterize viscoelastic properties of materials\udat the nanoscale. In this work, we demonstrate the capability of CR-AFM of characterizing viscoelastic properties (i.e.,\udstorage and loss moduli, as well as loss tangent) of polymer-based nanocomposites at variable temperature. CR-AFM is\udfirst illustrated on two polymeric reference samples, i.e., low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polycarbonate (PC). Then,\udtemperature-dependent viscoelastic properties (in terms of loss tangent) of a nanocomposite sample constituted by a epoxy\udresin reinforced with single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are investigated