Application of Atomic Force Microscopy in Polymer Characterization

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool for characterizing the nanoscale surface topography, structures, properties and dynamic process of materials, which has been widely used in polymer science. With the advances of multiparametric and multifunctional characterization, AFM not only can probe the surface topography and physicochemical properties of polymers from the structure of individual molecules to aggregation structures, but also enables the in situ study of crystallization and melting of polymers, self-assembly of block copolymers and phase separation of blend polymers by real-time imaging. Furthermore, the scanning probe lithography (SPL) (e.g. mechanical-SPL, bias induced SPL, thermal-SPL) provides an attractive nanofabrication method on polymer surface and demonstrates potential applications. Here, we present a survey on the working principle and classic imaging modes of AFM, with an emphasis on the preparation of polymer samples, the optimization of scan parameters, image processing and data analysis. And we summarize recent research progress on the applications of AFM in polymer science, mainly focusing on imaging the surface topography, quantitatively mapping the physicochemical properties, the dynamic evolution of phase transition, and nanofabrication method based on SPL. We hope this review would be conducive to understanding the AFM techniques and promote further applications of AFM in polymer characterization.