Comparative analysis on the nanoindentation of polymers using atomic force microscopy

Using atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation, we have measured the mechanical properties of various polymers: low density polyethylene, polyvinyl alcohol, high density polyethylene, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, Nylon 6, poly(methyl methacrylate), polystyrene and polyacrylic acid. The hardness and Young's modulus of the polymers were obtained by AFM through both the force-indentation and area-depth curves. Our comparative analysis shows that the two methods give almost identical results with self-consistency.