Chemical force microscopy has allowed scientists at the Polymer Centre to carry out adhesion force measurements at the molecular level on a variety of materials.
From studies on ordered monolayers fundamental information has been obtained about the strengths of particular types of non-covalent interaction.
Studies on polymer surfaces have allowed us to monitor the effects of surface modification on surface structure with nano-metre scale spatial resolution.
Chemical force microscopy
Scanning probe microscopy is the main enabling technology behind the recent expansion in nano-scale science and technology. There are a number of variant techniques, of these perhaps Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is the most familiar. A description of a basic AFM setup is provided on the Nanofolio website:
In Chemical Force Microscopy (CFM) the AFM probe tip is coated with an ordered monolayer of organic molecules (a self-assembled monolayer) to give it a specific chemical functionality. The force of attraction can be estimated from the excess force required to pull the tip free from the surface, as shown in the animation (above).
References
B. D. Beake, J. S. G. Ling and G. J. Leggett, Correlation of Friction, Adhesion, Wettability and Surface Chemistry after Argon Plasma Treatment of Poly(ethylene terephthalate), J. Mater. Chem. 8 (1998) 2845-2854.
N. J. Brewer, B. D. Beake and G. J. Leggett, Friction Force Microscopy of Self-Assembled Monolayers: Influence of Adsorbate Alkyl Chain Length, Terminal Group Chemistry and Scan Velocity, Langmuir 17 (2001) 1970-1974.
This feature is based on work carried out by Prof Graham Leggett:
© The University of Sheffield Polymer Centre, 2008.
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