Measuring the Adhesion Forces between Alkanethiol-Modified AFM Cantilevers and Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Nanotube/polymer composite interfaces are of interest for next generation composites. We have examined the adhesion between thiolated AFM cantilever tips and single walled carbon nanotube paper using chemical force microscopy. We have observed a direct correlation of adhesion force with respect to the thiol terminal group (NH2 > CH3 > OH). Our findings demonstrate that the interfacial interactions between single walled carbon nanotubes and terminally functionalized hydrocarbons can be evaluated with an atomic force microscope, provided that one accounts for variations in contact area caused by tip shape and sample topology.

Nanoscale investigation of the structural and chemical changes induced by oxidation on carbon black surfaces: A scanning probe microscopy approach

“…5b-5d and 6b, 6c, 6e, and 6f), we must first note that the measurement of this magnitude is rather sensitive to the morphology of the sample, in such a way that sharp variations in surface topography (e.g., those arising from steps or high vertical features) result in considerable changes in the measured phase. This kind of topography-dependent behavior is quite commonly encountered in the study of surface properties by scanning probe microscopies, and has been well documented not only in the case of phase imaging in tapping mode AFM [26,35,36] but also when mapping other properties such as adhesion [37][38][39] or friction [40]. In our case, we see this effect mainly at the edges of the CB particles (Figs.…”

A review on the role of interface in mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of polymer composites

“…Later, the force curve between the cantilever and the substrate will be recorded and used to measure the corresponding adhesion. This type of measurement is useful to show the effect of present chemical groups on the adhesion between the polymer matrix and the nanotubes [110,[117][118][119][120]. However, it worth mentioning that in this method only the maximum adhesion force will be considered, which is the summation of all forces applied on different locations of the cantilever.…”

A Versatile, Molecular Engineering Approach to Simultaneously Enhanced, Multifunctional Carbon‐Nanotube– Polymer Composites

“…Bottomley and co-workers examined the adhesion between thiolated atomic force microscopy cantilever tips and SWNT paper using chemical force microscopy, and they observed a direct correlation between adhesion force and the thiol terminal group (NH 2 > CH 3 > OH). [17] For example, the adhesion force between NH 2 -terminated thiols and SWNTs was more than twice that between CH-terminated thiols and SWNTs. This observation is consistent with the strong affinity of SWNTs for amine-functionalized surfaces, whereas methyl-functionalization yields substrates almost totally devoid of nanotubes.…”

“…It was not possible to distinguish the nanotube pullout from nanotube fracture using SEM. Other techniques [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] will be required in order to study the failure mechanism in detail in the future.…”