Investigation of the nanoscale elastic recovery of a polymer using an atomic force microscopy-based method

An atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based method to reveal the elastic recovery behavior of a polymer material after the nanoscratching process is presented. The machined depth during scratching is obtained by monitoring the position of the piezoceramic tube (PZT) of the AFM system. By comparison with the measured depth of the nanogroove, the elastic recovery of the machined depth can be achieved. Experiments are also undertaken to study the effects of the scratching velocity and the applied normal load on the elastic recovery of the machined depth when scratching on polycarbonate (PC). Results show that the elastic recovery rate has a logarithmically proportional relationship to the scratching velocity, while it has little change with the variation of the applied normal load. In addition, the constitutive model of the polymer material is also used to verify the obtained conclusions, indicating that this is a potential method for measuring the elastic recovery of the material under the mechanical process on the nanoscale.