Atomic force microscopy study of biaxially oriented polypropylene films

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) uses a very sharp pointed mechanical probe to collect real-space morphological information of solid surfaces. AFM was used in this study to image the surface morphology of a biaxially oriented polypropylene film. The polymer film is characterized by a nanometer-scale, fiberlike network structure, which reflects the drawing process used during the fabrication of the film. AFM was used to study polymer-surface treatment to improve wettability by exposing the polymer to ozone with or without ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Surface-morphology changes observed by AFM are the result of the surface oxidation induced by the treatment. Due to the topographic features of the polymer film, the fiberlike structure has been used to check the performance of the AFM tip. An AFM image is a mixture of the surface morphology and the shape of the AFM tip. Therefore, it is important to check the performance of a tip to ensure that the AFM image collected reflects the true surface features of the sample, rather than contamination on the AFM tip.