Solution-Grown Lamellae of PE on Mica by FV

Solution-Grown Lamellae of PE on Mica by FV Sample Preparation Crystallization from Solution 

The sample preparation is described in detail for hands-on example 7. Lamellar PE crystals are obtained on atomically flat mica sheets, which are glued onto metallic sample holder pucks using a minute amount of epoxy glue. 

Contact and Force Volume Mode AFM Visualization of the Morphology 

The AFM is set up for a standard CM experiment (Sect. 3.2 in Chap. 3). A large area scanner and a cantilever with small spring constant (k 0.05 N/m) are selected. After the sample has been mounted, the relative tip position must be adjusted such 

Subsequently, the scan size is increased as much as is required to image the entire crystal. Then a FV scan is started using a z ramp rate of a few Hz. An array of 64 x 64 points2 (4,096 consecutive force-distance measurements) is acquired to provide an FV image of the hydrophobic PE crystal on the more hydrophilic mica. Because of the high surface energy of (clean) mica and the sample preparation procedure, which involves hydrophobic solvents, the mica surface will be covered with a thin contamination layer. Nevertheless, the adhesive properties differ markedly and the crystal can be visualized as shown in Fig. 4.6b. This FV image is scaled 

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