A comparative study on morphology of block copolymer using atomic force microscopy and transmission electronics microscopy

The morphology of poly (styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene) (SEBS) triblock copolymer cast from heptane and toluene was studied by combining atomic for ce microscopy (AFM) with transmission electronics microscopy (TEM). The qua ntitative agreement of the results of AFM and TEM plays a key role in deter mining the phase attribution for the AFM images. It is confirmed that under the moderate tapping condition, the hills in AFM height images correspond to the polystyrene phase and the valleys to the rubbery phase.