Micromechanical Characterization of Complex Polypropylene Morphologies by HarmoniX AFM

This paper examines the capability of the HarmoniX Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) technique to draw accurate and reliable micromechanical characterization of complex polymer morphologies generally found in conventional thermoplastic polymers. To that purpose, injection molded polypropylene samples, c...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: S. Liparoti, A. Sorrentino, V. Speranza
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2017-01-01
Series:International Journal of Polymer Science
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/9037127
Description
Summary:This paper examines the capability of the HarmoniX Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) technique to draw accurate and reliable micromechanical characterization of complex polymer morphologies generally found in conventional thermoplastic polymers. To that purpose, injection molded polypropylene samples, containing representative morphologies, have been characterized by HarmoniX AFM. Mapping and distributions of mechanical properties of the samples surface are determined and analyzed. Effects of sample preparation and test conditions are also analyzed. Finally, the AFM determination of surface elastic moduli has been compared with that obtained by indentation tests, finding good agreement among the results.
ISSN:1687-9422
1687-9430