Complementary TEM and AFM Force Spectroscopy to Characterize the Nanomechanical Properties of Nanoparticle Chain Aggregates

Abstract

Nanoparticle chain aggregates are used as reinforcing fillers in elastomers (rubber) and significantly enhance the mechanical properties (tensile strength, Young's modulus) of elastomers. Insight into mechanisms of the performance of nanoparticle chain aggregates can be obtained from force vs displacement (force spectroscopy) measurements made with an AFM tip and an aggregate-coated substrate. Distinctive sawtooth patterns were observed which were interpreted as aggregate stretching and breaking events. Based on the measurements, estimates of the aggregate nanomechanical properties were made.

Nanoscale visualization and characterization of Myxococcus xanthus cells with atomic force microscopy

“…Single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) has been widely used on well defined monolayers of structurally characterized molecules (48,55,56). However, except for a few reports (57,58), little SMFS study has been carried out on living systems, which display much higher morphological heterogeneity. Here, we reported SMFS analysis of the extracellular substances on wild-type During the approach curve, the force acting on the AFM cantilever was recorded as a function of the displacement of the piezoelectric crystal, which moves the cantilever toward the sample.…”

Force measurements with the atomic force microscope: Technique, interpretation and applications

“…Experiments about the stretching behavior of a molecule have been performed with polymers in different solvents [833,845,[1062][1063][1064][1065][1066][1067][1068][1069][1070][1071][1072][1073][1074][1075][1076][1077], DNA [1078][1079][1080], RNA [1081] and other macromolecules [1082][1083][1084][1085][1086].…”

The Art of SPM: Scanning Probe Microscopy in Materials Science

“…The principle of force spectroscopy is shown in Figure 5. [66] The TEM images demonstrate stretching and breaking of individual nanoparticle chain aggregates (NCAs) deposited between two surfaces (Fig. 5a) while the plot exhibits the results of the corresponding force±displacement measuring experiment in which force spectroscopy is applied (Fig.…”

“…On aggregate-coated surfaces, multiple rupture events forming a sawtooth pattern were always observed during the retraction portion of the measurement. Reprinted with permission from [66]. Copyright 2004 American Chemical Society.…”