Investigation of the Nanomechanical Behaviors of Polymer Single Crystals by Atomic Force Microscopy Nanoindentation

IF 5.7 1区化学 Q1 POLYMER SCIENCE

Macromolecules Pub Date : 2026-10-20 DOI:10.1021/acs.macromol.6c02126

Yongkang Deng,Peng Yang,Xiaoye Zhang,Ziwen Ma,Yu Song,Wenke Zhang

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Abstract

Understanding the nanomechanical behavior of crystalline domains is crucial for establishing structure–property relationships in semicrystalline polymers. In this study, atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation on compliant polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates was used to quantify the Young’s modulus, fracture force, and deformation mechanisms of ultrathin polymer single crystals, including polyethylene (PE), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), and polyamide 66 (PA 66). Although several crystals showed comparable Young’s moduli, their fracture behaviors differed markedly. PE and PEO exhibited ductile deformation with permanent imprints and material pile-up, whereas PLLA, PCL, and PA 66 underwent brittle fragmentation. Cyclic loading–unloading further revealed pronounced crystal slip in PEO and hidden slip in thickness-stepped PE, while the other crystals remained mainly elastic before failure. These findings highlight force-activated chain dynamics as a key factor governing crystalline stem slip and the resulting brittle-to-ductile transition in polymer crystals.

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聚合物单晶纳米力学行为的原子力显微镜研究

了解晶域的纳米力学行为对于建立半晶聚合物的结构-性能关系至关重要。在本研究中，利用原子力显微镜（AFM）纳米压印技术，在柔性聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）衬底上量化了超薄聚合物单晶的杨氏模量、断裂力和变形机制，包括聚乙烯（PE）、聚环氧乙烷（PEO）、聚l-乳酸（PLLA）、聚ε-己内酯（PCL）和聚酰胺66 （pa66）。虽然有几种晶体具有相似的杨氏模量，但它们的断裂行为却有明显的不同。PE和PEO表现出具有永久压痕和材料堆积的韧性变形，而PLLA， PCL和pa66则表现出脆性破碎。循环加载-卸载进一步揭示了PEO的明显滑移和PE的隐藏滑移，而其他晶体在破坏前主要保持弹性。这些发现强调了力激活链动力学是控制结晶杆滑移和由此产生的聚合物晶体脆性到延性转变的关键因素。

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来源期刊

Macromolecules 工程技术-高分子科学

CiteScore

9.30

自引率

16.40%

发文量

942

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： Macromolecules publishes original, fundamental, and impactful research on all aspects of polymer science. Topics of interest include synthesis (e.g., controlled polymerizations, polymerization catalysis, post polymerization modification, new monomer structures and polymer architectures, and polymerization mechanisms/kinetics analysis); phase behavior, thermodynamics, dynamic, and ordering/disordering phenomena (e.g., self-assembly, gelation, crystallization, solution/melt/solid-state characteristics); structure and properties (e.g., mechanical and rheological properties, surface/interfacial characteristics, electronic and transport properties); new state of the art characterization (e.g., spectroscopy, scattering, microscopy, rheology), simulation (e.g., Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics, multi-scale/coarse-grained modeling), and theoretical methods. Renewable/sustainable polymers, polymer networks, responsive polymers, electro-, magneto- and opto-active macromolecules, inorganic polymers, charge-transporting polymers (ion-containing, semiconducting, and conducting), nanostructured polymers, and polymer composites are also of interest. Typical papers published in Macromolecules showcase important and innovative concepts, experimental methods/observations, and theoretical/computational approaches that demonstrate a fundamental advance in the understanding of polymers.