Paper, a man-made material that has been used for hundreds of years, is a network of natural cellulosic fibres. To a large extent, it is the strength of bonding between these individual fibres that controls the strength of paper. Using atomic force microscopy, we explore here the mechanical properties of individual fibre-fibre bonds on the nanometre scale. A single fibre-fibre bond is loaded with a calibrated cantilever statically and dynamically until the bond breaks. Besides the calculation of the total energy input, time dependent processes such as creep and relaxation are studied. Through the nanometre scale investigation of the formerly bonded area, we show that fibrils or fibril bundles play a crucial role in fibre-fibre bonding because they act as bridging elements. With this knowledge, new fabrication routes can be deduced to increase the strength of an ancient product that is in fact an overlooked high-tech material.
The surface topography of paper fibers is studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM), and thus the surface roughness power spectrum is obtained. Using AFM we have performed indentation experiments and measured the effective elastic modulus and the penetration hardness as a function of humidity. The influence of water capillary adhesion on the fiber-fiber binding strength is studied. Cellulose fibers can absorb a significant amount of water, resulting in swelling and a strong reduction in the elastic modulus and the penetration hardness. This will lead to closer contact between the fibers during the drying process (the capillary bridges pull the fibers into closer contact without storing up a lot of elastic energy at the contacting interface). In order for the contact to remain good in the dry state, plastic flow must occur (in the wet state) so that the dry surface profiles conform to each other (forming a key-and-lock type of contact).
Functionalization of surfaces is an important task for nanotechnology to add specially designed physico-chemical properties to materials. Besides chemical modification of surfaces, physical adaptations gain increasing interest. Thus, understanding the influences of film deposition on surface topography formation is the basis for future developments. For physical or chemical vapour deposited (PVD, CVD) films, structure zone models were developed, clearly showing the influences of temperature and vapour energy and, thus, surface and bulk diffusion on film structures based on four different structure zones. Generally, similar zones are also found in PVD coatings on polymeric substrates; However, due to restrictions in coating temperatures due to the thermal resistance of most polymers, the coating temperature is restricted to mostly 50˚C, excluding thermal activation of at least surface diffusion of inorganic materials (metals and their nitrides, oxides, carbides, etc.) and resulting in columnar growth with dome-shaped column tops. Additionally, the high difference in mechanical properties between "stiff" inorganic coatings and "flexible" polymers implicates stress-induced growth phenomena, resulting in wrinkling, cracking and finally the formation of a superseding structure, depending on substrate and film materials and the vapour energy of the deposition method.
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