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Interfacial and Substrate Effects on Local Elastic Properties of Polymers Using Coupled Experiments and Modeling of Nanoindentation
Author(s) -
Watcharotone Supinda,
Wood Charles D.,
Friedrich Robert,
Chen Xinqi,
Qiao Rui,
Putz Karl,
Brinson L. Catherine
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
advanced engineering materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1527-2648
pISSN - 1438-1656
DOI - 10.1002/adem.201000277
Subject(s) - nanoindentation , materials science , polymer , substrate (aquarium) , microelectronics , polymer substrate , nanometre , composite material , nanoscopic scale , interphase , thin film , nanocomposite , nanotechnology , oceanography , geology , biology , genetics
The mechanical properties of polymers near interfaces are important in a number of different fields. For almost two decades, the local dynamics of thin polymer films have been studied in great detail. However, development of an understanding of local mechanical properties has been hindered by the necessary proximity of stiff substrates: mechanical measurements are confounded by interaction with the substrate, convoluting polymer, and substrate properties. In this paper, local elastic properties of thin polymer films near interfaces are directly probed for the first time via nanoindentation experiments on thin films coupled with finite element modeling. A comprehensive set of experimental and numerical modeling results are presented for poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) revealing separately the effects of substrate and interphase polymer. Results indicate the attractive surface significantly affects the properties up to hundreds of nanometers. This new, direct approach to measure local mechanical properties provides new fundamental understanding of interfacial and small‐scale behaviors in polymers and soft matter for application advances in nanocomposites, microelectronics, and biopolymers.