Understanding the structure-property relationship is a key in designing new materials or improving the current ones. This is equally important from constructing new tyres to developing antifouling biomedical surfaces. The core problem remains the same. Scientists need to understand the exquisite hierarchical architecture of various materials on both atomic, molecular and supramolecular levels. And they do need to measure functional properties on the very same scales. Such combined knowledge provides an ultimate holistic approach for material characterization.
When it comes to precise measurements of structure and properties on a nanoscale and beyond, there is very little competition to Atomic Force Microscopy. It is the only technique capable of real-space ultra-high-resolution imaging in almost any environment and temperature range. And the key to this is a sharp probe that interacts with samples on a subnanometer scale providing both the structural and functional information.
In this webinar, I will focus on the recent advancement in ultra-high resolution imaging on large sample Atomic Force Microscopes. I will cover three main topics to highlight recent developments in using Park System’s AFMs in investigating supramolecular assemblies on surfaces, assessing the structure and nanomechanical properties of real-world polymers and, for the first time, understanding the molecular structure of peptide nanotubes. The latter will be combined with high-resolution nanomechanical measurements.
