Measurement of nanoindentation properties of polymers considering adhesion effects between AFM sharp indenter and material

Abstract

Nanomechanical properties of polymer samples were calculated using an adhesive contact model appropriate for AFM indentation problems. A series of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) samples were indented by the sharp indenter in the air by using an AFM, and dozens of the force–displacement curves of each sample were obtained. An adhesive contact model suitable for sharp indentation with adhesion was established based on the same assumptions of the JKR model which is only suitable for spherical indentation at small penetration depth. Differences between sharp indentation problems with and without adhesion were discussed, and the limitations of the traditional adhesion model were given. The elastic modulus was obtained by fitting experimental force–displacement curves with theoretical ones, and results were compared to those macroscopic values in literature. The adhesion energy between the indenter and the sample surface was accurately calculated using the adhesion model based on the calculated elastic modulus. The influence of the indenter tip angle on the calculation results of the elastic modulus was also discussed theoretically. In this study, the mechanical properties of polymer samples were calculated at the nanoscale considering the adhesion effect.