Nanomechanical Properties of Supramolecular Self-Assembled Whiskers Determined by AFM Force Mapping

Abstract

In this Letter, we investigate the nanomechanical properties of self-assembled 1,3,5-benzenetrisamide whiskers with atomic force microscopy (AFM) bending experiments. We use force mapping to acquire spatially resolved force measurements over the full length of a whisker segment spanning a channel of a structured glass substrate. This allows validation of the experimental boundary conditions directly from the AFM data and a reliable determination of Young's modulus. The presented technique can be generalized for the mechanical characterization of other one-dimensional materials.

Supramolecular Nanofiber Webs in Nonwoven Scaffolds as Potential Filter Media

“…Recently, we have shown by atomic force microscopy (AFM) force mapping methodology that single self‐assembled BTA‐nanofibers feature a remarkable mechanical stability with Young's moduli in the low GPa range,39, 40 demonstrating that supramolecular nanofibers can withstand certain mechanical stress. These findings encouraged us to explore the in situ formation of supramolecular nanofiber webs in nonwoven scaffolds with the emphasis to prepare sufficiently stable polymer‐microfiber/supramolecular‐nanofiber composites, also in view of filter applications.…”

Polymer Characterization with the Atomic Force Microscope

“…This technique enables the determination of material and molecule behavior upon exposure to a desired environment in vitro, and by this contributes to a decrease of overall development costs for modern drug delivery systems with targeted capabilities. The main research fields, which gained the most from this technique over the past years, are pharmaceutical technology (measurements in simulated body fluids and in vitro detection of interactions between different components in complex formulations [3]), supramolecular chemistry (real time follow up of formation of self-assembled monolayers [46]), biochemistry (simulating the binding of drugs to their targets [6]), and microbiology (measurements of interactions between materials and bacteria [47]). …”

Controlling the Aspect Ratio of Supramolecular Fibers by Ultrasonication

“…The directionality of hydrogen bonds along one columnar stack of BTAs results in the formation of a macrodipole compensated by a side‐by‐side arrangement with antiparallel alignment of the supramolecular columns into nanofiber bundles . Owing to the controlled self‐assembly process, robust hierarchically structured nanofibers are formed exhibiting appealing mechanical and thermal stability . In particular, these properties render supramolecular nanofibers based on BTAs promising candidates to be used as material for air filtration applications …”