Nanoscale quantitative mechanical mapping of poly dimethylsiloxane in a time dependent fashion

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is one of the most widely adopted silicon-based organic polymeric elastomers. Elastomeric nanostructures are normally required to accomplish an explicit mechanical role and correspondingly their mechanical properties are crucial to affect device and material performance. Despite its wide application, the mechanical properties of PDMS are yet fully understood. In particular, the time dependent mechanical response of PDMS has not been fully elucidated. Here, utilizing state-of-the-art PeakForce Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping (PFQNM) together with Force Volume (FV) and Fast Force Volume (FFV), the elastic moduli of PDMS samples were assessed in a time-dependent fashion. Specifically, the acquisition frequency was discretely changed four orders of magnitude from 0.1 Hz up to 2 kHz. Careful calibrations were done. Force data were fitted with a linearized DMT contact mechanics model considering surface adhesion force. Increased Young's modulus was discovered with increasing acquisition frequency. It was measured 878+-274 kPa at 0.1 Hz and increased to 4586+-758 kPa at 2 kHz. The robust local probing of mechanical measurement as well as unprecedented high-resolution topography imaging open new avenues for quantitative nanomechanical mapping of soft polymers, and can be extended to soft biological systems.