Observation of modification and recovery of local properties of polyethylene oxide

Abstract

By applying large forces to the surface during an atomic force microscopy scanning, crystallized polyethylene oxide (PEO) films were modified and showed a new structure in which there are the formation of a nanometer-scale bundle structure and an increase of elastic stiffness. The modified part was removed by dropping benzene onto a rotating surface through a peeling process for the case of thin modified layers, while for thick layers, the local properties were recovered by absorbing benzene into the modified parts. In the course of these measurements, the thickness of the modified layers was estimated.