Evaluating Mechanical Properties of Polymers at the Nanoscale Level via Atomic Force Microscopy–Infrared Spectroscopy

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The characterization and the optimization of packaging materials require accessing their composition with nanometric precision. A possible solution comes from atomic force microscopy–infrared spectroscopy (AFM–IR), capable of acquiring IR spectra with a spatial resolution surpassing the limit of infrared spectroscopy by far. Differentiating polyolefins, a typical component of packaging films, is complicated by the large similarity in the infrared response of this class of materials. Here, we propose a method with which to improve domains differentiation based on the analysis of IR spectra and viscoelastic properties, extracted via a routine similar to that employed in contact-resonance AFM