title: Surface-deformation characteristics of uniaxially oriented poly(ethylene terephthalate) film as evaluated from nanoscratch tests with scanning probe microscopy.
abstract: The surface-deformation characteristics of uniaxially drawn poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film were successfully evaluated with multiline scratch tests using scanning probe microscopy (SPM) on a nanometer scale. The PET film was prepared by compression molding from the melt, followed by quenching in ice water. The obtained amorphous film was drawn uniaxially below its glass-transition temperature, and the resultant surface roughness could be reduced to within 5 nm. A multiline scratch with the Si(3)N(4) tip of an SPM on the oriented PET surface was made parallel and perpendicular to the drawing axis under applied loads of 5-30 nN. The perpendicular scratching generated a characteristic periodic pattern on the film surface, but the parallel scratching induced a tearing of the surface. These results suggest that surface-deformation mechanisms were dominated by molecular anisotropy. The surface-deformation properties, as evaluated from scratch-angle dependences on morphological changes on a nanometer scale, were similar to the mechanical properties of the bulk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Gunma University, Kiryu, Gunma 376-8515, Japan. uehara@chem.gunma-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.forename: Tatsuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asakawa
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kakiage
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamanobe
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Komoto