AFM imaging and characterization of latex particles formed by copolymerization of styrene and poly(ethylene oxide) macromonomer

Abstract

A new type of latex particle was prepared by copolymerization of styrene and poly(ethylene oxide) macromonomer. By controlling the concentration of styrene in reaction mixtures, several latexes with different grain sizes were obtained. The packing patterns of the latex films as well as shapes and sizes of the latex particles were measured with atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM images revealed that the grain sizes of the latexes increase with increasing concentration of styrene. At a higher styrene concentration (10 wt%), the latex showed a rather homogenous distribution of grain sizes. Lateral force microscopy (LFM) was used to reveal frictional features of latex particles. Contact and non-contact mode AFM were employed to image the same sample of the latex films. The results show that AFM working in non-contact mode can be used to effectively eliminate the horizontal-line-like artifacts, which may obscure AFM images.