Characterization of the mechanical properties of qPlus sensors

• Jan Berger,
• Martin Švec,
• Martin Müller,
• Martin Ledinský,
• Antonín Fejfar,
• Pavel Jelínek and
• Zsolt Majzik

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 1–9, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.1

• : where E is Young’s elastic modulus (for quartz E = 78.7 GPa), t is the thickness (0.214 mm), w is the width (0.126 mm), l is the length of the prong, and k is the stiffness of the tuning fork. In order to determine the stiffness in this work, the length, which is the only variable, needs to be known

Growth behaviour and mechanical properties of PLL/HA multilayer films studied by AFM

• Cagri Üzüm,
• Johannes Hellwig,
• Narayanan Madaboosi,
• Dmitry Volodkin and
• Regine von Klitzing

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 778–788, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.87

• . Therefore, scanning- or colloidal-probe atomic force microscopy have been widely used for studying the topography and the mechanical properties of PEMs [3][4][5][7][8]. One of the first measurements of elastic modulus with atomic force microscopy (AFM) on biological films was performed on lung-cancer cells

• , back in 1993 [9]. Further measurements include different strains of E. coli with a colloidal probe [10], elastic modulus of human platelet cells [11], human bone cell or skeletal muscle cells [12], breast cancer cells [13][14], hydrogel films [15][16][17], or nanoribbons [18], as well as single

Friction and durability of virgin and damaged skin with and without skin cream treatment using atomic force microscopy

• Bharat Bhushan,
• Si Chen and
• Shirong Ge

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 731–746, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.83

• , the maximum indentation displacement was controlled to be 1000 nm [6]. The method for the hardness (H) and the elastic modulus (E) determination was based on established methods [37][38]. Briefly, H was calculated from where Pmax is the maximum imposed load, and A is the projected contact area. The

• relationship between the contact area and the contact depth was obtained from calibrating the tip with a standard material of known mechanical properties such that A is readily obtained from the load–displacement data. E was analyzed according to the following equations: where Et and νt are the elastic modulus

• . The load–displacement curves for rat and pig skin are presented in Figure 2a. Under the same displacement control, the load required for a given displacement for pig skin is larger than that for the rat skin, which means the pig skin is harder than rat skin. The nanohardness and elastic modulus data

Mapping mechanical properties of organic thin films by force-modulation microscopy in aqueous media

• Jianming Zhang,
• Zehra Parlak,
• Carleen M. Bowers,
• Terrence Oas and
• Stefan Zauscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 464–474, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.53

• atomic force microscopy; biomolecules; elastic modulus mapping; nanomechanical characterization; self-assembled monolayers; Introduction Mapping the mechanical properties, such as elastic modulus, friction, and adhesion of surfaces and thin films in aqueous (or liquid) environments with nanoscale

Theoretical study of the frequency shift in bimodal FM-AFM by fractional calculus

• Elena T. Herruzo and
• Ricardo Garcia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 198–206, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.22

• microscopy (SPAM) [8][28], or by making use of higher harmonics of the oscillation in order to relate the force with the observable quantity through its transfer function [11]. In particular, the torsional-harmonic cantilevers introduced by Sahin et al. allowed the reconstruction of the effective elastic

• modulus of samples in air [14] and liquids [29][30][31]. Bimodal AFM [32][33] is a force-microscopy method that allows quantitative mapping of the sample properties (Figure 1). Bimodal AFM operates by exciting simultaneously the cantilever at its first and second flexural resonances. The technique

Direct monitoring of opto-mechanical switching of self-assembled monolayer films containing the azobenzene group

• Einat Tirosh,
• Enrico Benassi,
• Silvio Pipolo,
• Marcel Mayor,
• Michal Valášek,
• Veronica Frydman,
• Stefano Corni and
• Sidney R. Cohen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 834–844, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.93

• isomerization of the azo group in such molecules have been examined macroscopically by a number of techniques, modulations of the elastic modulus upon isomerization in self-assembled films were not yet measured directly. Here, we examine the mechanical response upon optical switching of bis[(1,1'-biphenyl)-4-yl

• ]diazene organized in a self-assembled film on Au islands, using atomic force microscopy. Analysis of higher harmonics by means of a torsional harmonic cantilever allowed real-time extraction of mechanical data. Quantitative analysis of elastic modulus maps obtained simultaneously with topographic images

• bonds and from intermolecular interactions in the film. These results demonstrate the power and insights gained from cutting-edge AFM technologies, and advanced computational methods. Keywords: AFM; azobenzene; elastic modulus; molecular dynamics; nanomechanics; photoswitch; quantum mechanics

Effect of large mechanical stress on the magnetic properties of embedded Fe nanoparticles

• Srinivasa Saranu,
• Sören Selve,
• Ute Kaiser,
• Luyang Han,
• Ulf Wiedwald,
• Paul Ziemann and
• Ulrich Herr

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 268–275, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.31

• elastic modulus of the film with the nanoparticles was practically identical to the modulus of Cu, ECu = 110 GPa. The samples were loaded under a hydrogen pressure of 2 bar at a temperature of 100 °C for durations of up to several hours. After each loading cycle, the lattice parameters of the Ta and the

Single-pass Kelvin force microscopy and dC/dZ measurements in the intermittent contact: applications to polymer materials

• Sergei Magonov and
• John Alexander

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 15–27, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.2

• nanomechanical studies is their sensitivity to materials with an elastic modulus below 10 GPa (polymers, biological specimen, etc.) that leaves rigid materials (metals, semiconductors, ceramics, etc.) out of reach. In this situation AFM compositional imaging can be expanded by local electrical techniques that