Atomic Force Microscopic (AFM) Characterization of Nanomaterials

摘要

This research utilized atomic force microscopy (AFM) in the characterization of nanomaterials. The research also discussed the characterization observations pertaining to the dispersion of nanomaterials used in the study. The examination results showed that the dispersed nanomaterials could be divided into partially dispersed and fully dispersed states which were clearly distinguishable from the images obtained via AFM. Material characterization was initially made using optical microscopy (OM) and then with atomic force microscopy (AFM). In this research, we attempted to determine the best dispersion method that would easily disperse the carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotubes are immersed in the solvent N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). In recent studies DMF has been reported as a good solvent for the dispersion of nanotubes. And during our experiments, only DMF provided the desired 'fully dispersed state'. A tip sonicator was used during the dispersion method. We determined that the carbon nanotube (CNTs) dispersion level could be roughly indentified from the OM images. In this work, the relationship between OM images and those obtained from AFM images was examined. The examination results showed that the nanomaterials could be divided into partially dispersed and fully dispersed states, which were clearly viewed from the AFM images.