Quantitative Viscoelastic Mapping of Polyolefin Blends with Contact Resonance Atomic Force Microscopy

The storage modulus (E′) and loss modulus (E″) of polyolefin blends have been mapped on the nanoscale with contact resonance atomic force microscopy (CR-FM), a dynamic contact mode of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Modulus values measured on various components within a blend of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene compared favorably with expected moduli of individual pure components at the contact resonance frequency that were calculated...