Topography and Mechanical Property Mapping of International Simple Glass Surfaces with Atomic Force Microscopy

Quantitative Nanomechanical Peak Force® (PF-QNM) TappingModeTM atomic force microscopy measurements are presented for the first time on polished glass surfaces. The PF-QNM technique allows for topography and mechanical property information to be measured simultaneously at each pixel. Results for the international simple glass-which represents a simplified version of SON68 glass-suggests the average Young's modulus of 78.8 ±15.1 GPa is within the experimental error of the modulus measured for SON68 glass (83.6 ±2 GPa) using conventional approaches. Application of the PF-QNM technique will be extended to in situ glass corrosion experiments with the goal of gaining atomic-scale insights into altered layer development by exploiting the mechanical property differences that exist between silica gel (e.g., altered layer) and pristine glass surface.