Characterization of Single Polymer Molecules

Abstract

This chapter offers an overview of the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in polymer studies. Soft AFM cantilevers with sharp tips are useful for their relatively high spatial resolution, a few nm, and force resolution, a few tens of pN. AFM imaging is used to characterize conformational properties of single polymer chains at solid-liquid interfaces. AFM force microscopy gives molecular elasticity as well as interaction forces of single polymer chains with solids. Recent technical developments have made possible the characterization of time-resolved mechanical properties of single polymer chains, including the relaxation time and internal friction. AFM force microscopy with biomolecules, supramolecules, and mechanophores reveals the forces required for, and the kinetics of, conformational transitions and chemical reactions in these molecules at the single-chain and single bond levels.