Space-resolved quantitative mechanical measurements of soft and supersoft materials by atomic force microscopy

摘要

Morphology and nanomechanical properties by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in 1:1 correspondence for the poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogel in a water environment. Measurements were performed in force volume mode at medium resolution (64 × 64) using a 2550 nm spherical tip: morphology (A) and Young’s modulus mechanical map (B). Force (nN) vs indentation (nm) graph (C) that highlights the raw data and Hertz fit. Histogram of Young’s modulus values in log-normal scale with Gaussian distribution fits (D) for the quantitative analysis and error calculation.