Microstructure study of acrylic polymer-silica nanocomposite surface by scanning force microscopy

Scanning force microscopy (SFM) was successfully used to study the microstructures of acrylic polymer-silica nanocomposite surfaces processed by the sol-gel method. We observed excellent flatness of the dip-coated nanocomposite surfaces (root mean square roughness=0.345 nm; mean roughness=0.270 nm), probably due to the levelling effect of the dipping solution. SFM revealed that acrylic polymer and silica were hybridized on surfaces, with domain sizes from several to 30 nm, where friction forces between silica and acrylic polymer against the Si3N4 SFM tip were 35 and 1.6 nN respectively, for a 0.1 nN load. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.