LATEX CHARACTERIZATION BY ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY

Ways, benefits and limitations of extracting the form and size of sing le latex particles or particle size distributions out of the surface t opography of non-coalesced latex films obtained by atomic force micros copy (AFM) are discussed. The general ways to generate the desired inf ormation out of topographical information in terms of height, surface curvature and lateral extensions are shown for idealized particles and measurement conditions. The different sources of information are eval uated for practical use and the analysis of particle size distribution s is demonstrated by practical examples. The information content in la teral particle dimensions is shown to be the most advantageous for pra ctical use. Determination of latex particle size distributions by AFM is shown to be an interesting alternative to the arsenal of available methods with respect to exactness of results, time consummation and in strumentation costs.