Atomic force microscopy advantage

Although the resolution of atomic force microscopy (AFM) is basically inferior to that of STM, the technique has the advantage that insulating materials can also be used as substrates. In AFM the forces acting between the tip and the sample surface are detected. The probe tip mounted on a flexible cantilever scans over the sample. AFM can be operated in contact mode, exploiting repulsive forces, as well as in non-contact mode, exploiting attractive forces. In the contact mode the probe tip is in direct contact with the sample surface (Fig. 7.8). Either the tip is passed over the sample surface at constant height (CHM,... 

IPNs are also attractive for development of materials with enhanced mechanical properties. As PDMS acts as an elastomer, it is of interest to have a thermoplastic second network such as PMMA or polystyrene. Crosslinked PDMS have poor mechanical properties and need to be reinforced with silica. In the IPNs field, they can advantageously be replaced by a second thermoplastic network. On the other hand, if the thermoplastic network is the major component, the PDMS network can confer a partially elastomeric character to the resulting material. Huang et al. [92] studied some sequential IPNs of PDMS and polymethacrylate and varied the ester functionalities the polysiloxane network was swollen with MMA (methyl methacrylate), EMA (ethyl methacrylate) or BuMA (butyl methacrylate). Using DMA the authors determined that the more sterically hindered the substituent, the broader the damping zone of the IPN (Table 2). This damping zone broadness was also found to be dependant on the PDMS content, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to observe the co-continuity of the IPN. 

The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate the usefulness of vibrational spectroscopy [1-8] and atomic force microscopy (AFM) [9,10] in the studies of monolayers on air/solid interfaces. In this chapter, considerable attention is paid to the combined use of vibrational spectroscopy and AFM. These two techniques, widely used in the studies of monolayers on air/solid interfaces, have complementary advantages vibrational spectroscopy is suitable to investigate structure and orientation of monolayers [2,3,6-9], while AFM is useful to observe the surface morphology and the thickness of the monolayers [9]. 

Label-free optical techniqnes for detecting bound proteins on microarrays have been recently reviewed. The advantage of these methods over labeling methods is that the native form of the analyte is preserved. These methods include SPR, surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SELDI-MS), atomic force microscopy " and fiber-optic methods. 

AFM (atomic force microscopy). The major advantages of these techniques, compared with UHV surface science techniques, are that they do not require vacuum conditions, which usually entail a lot of experimental difficulties, and the removal of electrodes... 

One of the advantages of SAMs on smooth, reflective surfaces, is that reactions on these monolayers can be studied by a wide range of techniques including infrared spectroscopy 20 scanning electron microscopy (27), contact angle measurements (22), atomic force microscopy (AFM) (25), surface plasmon... 

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