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Measuring interdiffusion at an interface between two elastomers with tapping‐mode and contact‐resonance atomic force microscopy imaging
Author(s) -
Bresson Bruno,
Portigliatti Maude,
Salvant Benoit,
Fretigny Christian
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.27914
Subject(s) - elastomer , materials science , kelvin probe force microscope , polymer , tapping , resonance (particle physics) , microscopy , atomic force microscopy , non contact atomic force microscopy , composite material , interphase , polymer blend , conductive atomic force microscopy , nanotechnology , optics , acoustics , copolymer , physics , atomic physics , biology , genetics
Despite the common use of tapping‐mode atomic force microscopy to image composites or polymer blends, very few studies have focused on the measurement of the interdiffusion at an interface between two polymers in contact. In this study, we show how to assess the interphase between two polymers with two methods. First, stable and robust tapping conditions are established, and the problem of the phase contrast is discussed. Second, a contact‐resonance method is presented: the tip in contact with the sample is electrostatically excited at its resonance frequency by a self‐controlled oscillator. The gain and frequency images allow us to measure the interdiffusion width. Both methods (using high and weak mechanical solicitation) give the same assessment of the interdiffusion width. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008