The polymer film can be deposited on a glass or Si substrate. The nanoparticles would be Co nanorods with a diameter of 6 nm and a length of approximately 40 to 50 nm.
If you are lucky, and your AFM is sensitive enough, by making high resolution alternate contact images the height or the phase image should be sensitive to the place of nanoparticles. If the roughness of polymer film is lower than size of your nanoparticles, you are done! If not, recording the phase might help. In last case, high resolution force maps might help as well, but this might be a quite slow way. (Harder way is to make slices and characterize with Transmission Electron Microscopy images).
For SEM analysis:
You could start depositing the polymer film on silicon (avoid glass in SEM). Is the polymer electron conductive? If not you need to deposit a thin (
Thank you for your answers. I think I will try some of the solution you proposed and I might come back to you if I have troubles.
Best
Send us your sample. I will perform the analysis by MS-AFM (Appl. Phys. Lett. 105, 053110-5, 2014; Nanotechnology 25, 295101-8, 2014) or by SMM technique (Phys.Rev.B, 83, 121409-1-4, 2011). My address: Pr. E. Lesniewska, ICB UMR CNRS 6303, University of Bourgogne, BP 47870, F-21078 Dijon, France (Phone +33.380.39.60.34)
Thank you for your proposition. I don't have sample yet, we are still working on the way to functionnalize the nanoparticles with azopolymers so we can obtain an homogeneous repartition in the blend. I may contact you again later on.
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