AFM imaging and nanoindentation of polymer of intrinsic microporosity PIM-1

Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) have promising gas adsorption properties for potential applications such as incorporation into high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks in an effort to increase the storage capacity or decrease the operating pressure. Such applications require detailed mechanical characterisation and determination of the structure-properties relationships to enable optimisation of the interface between the polymer and the tank. In this study, we show that Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation can be used to determine the elastic modulus of cast PIM-1 films and that this property is depth-dependent. Average values of elastic modulus obtained experimentally were 1.87 GPa and are compared with elastic tensile modulus and storage tensile modulus obtained in previous studies. In addition, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and AFM imaging was performed to investigate the surface structure of the cast PIM-1 film, which has been shown to be highly granular.