Investigation of mechanical and tribological properties of polyaniline brush by atomic force microscopy for scanning probe-based data storage

Abstract

In this study, the mechanical and tribological properties of polyaniline (PANI) brush are investigated for ultrahigh density data storage system based on atomic force microscope (AFM). A 30-nm-thick PANI brush film is formed on an Au surface by the intermediary of a self-assembled monolayer. The average Young's modulus of the brush is successfully evaluated to be 3.8 GPa by force-deformation curve measurement. And main cause of the friction force between conductive Pt/Ir-coated tip and the brush in the tip scanning is found to be not adhesion force but the roughness by lateral force microscopy. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the PANI brush has better wear resistivity compared with a spin-deposited PMMA film as the recording medium. The good wear resistivity is attributed to the configuration of the polymer brush without physically-absorbed polymer chains. © 2013 The Surface Science Society of Japan.