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Adhesion of polymer–inorganic interfaces by nanoindentation

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Abstract

Nanoindentation combined with atomic force microscopy was applied to measure the fracture toughness of polystyrene/glass interfaces. Film delamination occurs when the inelastic penetration depth approximately equals or exceeds the film thickness. The delamination size was accurately measured using atomic force microscopy. Using multilayer indentation and annular-plate analyses, the interfacial fracture toughness was then assessed. The values obtained from the two analyses are in good agreement with the fracture toughness of the interface being approximately 350 mJ/m2. By appropriate fracture surface characterization, it was shown that fracture occurs along the polystyrene/glass interface. Crack arrest marks were observed, and their possible cause discussed. On the basis of the morphology of the fracture surface, the fracture toughness was also evaluated using a process zone analysis. The result agrees well with those obtained from the other two analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Ave S.E., 55455, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Min Li & C. Barry Carter

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Ave S.E., 55455, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Marc A. Hillmyer

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Ave S.E., 55455, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    William W. Gerberich

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  1. Min Li
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  2. C. Barry Carter
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  3. Marc A. Hillmyer
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  4. William W. Gerberich
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Correspondence to William W. Gerberich.

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Li, M., Carter, C.B., Hillmyer, M.A. et al. Adhesion of polymer–inorganic interfaces by nanoindentation. Journal of Materials Research 16, 3378–3388 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2001.0466

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2001.0466

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