Observations of the topography and friction properties of macromolecular thin films at the nanometer scale

The research work in this paper is on the microtribological properties Of C -60-PSt macromolecular thin films. The C-60-polystyrene (C-60-Pst) molecule is hyperbranched. AFM/FFM techniques are used for observing the topography and friction properties of surface-modified C-60-Pst thin films at the nan ometer scale. The synthesized product was analyzed with GPC and FTIR spectr ometry. Monolayer and multilayer thin films of C-60-Pst macromolecules were prepared using a LB (Langmuir-Blodgett) film technique. The structural and frictional properties of these thin films were tested using AFM/FFM. The t opography of the LB film surface, transference of molecules and friction Of C60-PSt thin films using FFM were observed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.