The combination of a scanning force microscope (SFM) with an integrated microindenter makes it possible to investigate mechanical properties of polymers and their blended systems with high spatial resolution. The behaviour of the polymers polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and PC/PMMA blends were investigated using nanoindentation with different mechanical load, frequency, and development of inelastic deformation with time. The results of the microscopic measurements were compared with macroscopic properties from tensile test experiments. The relation of the Young's moduli of the macroscopic and microscopic tests of the neat polymers are comparable.In order to develop polymeric materials with tailored mechanical properties, a knowledge of their microscopical structures and their behaviour under mechanical load is necessary. As has been demonstrated in many publications (e.g. [1][2][3][4]) an appropriate instrument to obtain information about the morphology of polymeric materials is the scanning force microscope (SFM) with several different possible contrast mechanisms. A severe problem with all SFM contrast methods is to get absolute specifications about the mechanical behaviour at the sample surface. Conventional instruments, e.g. microhardness testers [5, 6] (e.g. Vickers hardness tester, Knoop hardness tester) are quite reliable and reproducible. However, the lateral resolution is small and no high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) image of the indented surface can be easily obtained. The SFM technique gives complementary insights which provide a variety of information about the mechanical properties on the nanometre scale at the sample surface. With its high lateral resolution, the SFM technique enables specific investigation of local properties at the sample surface of different materials, especially polymers, to be carried out.It is not yet clear whether material constants such as Young's modulus, shear modulus, hardness, and viscosity can be locally measured, and whether these results are comparable with the macroscopic properties of the bulk material.Here, we present measurements of two neat polymers (polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)) and blended systems consisting of a mixture of the two polymers.
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