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Updated: May 5, 2026

Investigating Single Molecule Adhesion by Atomic Force Spectroscopy
Published on: February 27, 2015
Atomic force microscopic study of the structure of high-density polyethylene deformed in liquid medium by crazing
D V Bagrov1, A Y Yarysheva, E G Rukhlya
1Faculty of Chemistry, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.
Abstract:
A procedure has been developed for the direct atomic force microscopic (AFM) examination of the native structure of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) deformed in an adsorption-active liquid medium (AALM) by the crazing mechanism. The AFM investigation has been carried out in the presence of a liquid medium under conditions preventing deformed films from shrinkage. Deformation of HDPE in AALM has been shown to proceed through the delocalized crazing mechanism and result in the development of a fibrillar-porous structure. The structural parameters of the crazed polymer have been determined. The obtained AFM images demonstrate a nanosized nonuniformity of the deformation and enable one to observe the structural rearrangements that take place in the deformed polymer after removal of the liquid medium and stress relaxation. A structural similarity has been revealed between HDPE deformed in the AALM and hard elastic polymers.
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