Comparative AFM and TEM investigation of the morphology of nylon6-rubber blends

In the present paper, blends of nylon6 with rubber were cut by means of microtoming for the AFM investigation of bulk morphology using phase contrast imaging. This investigation was compared to the results of a TEM analysis. The cutting procedure used in the preparation of the samples did not affect the morphology of the rubber particles, since the topography of the area analyzed did not affect the contrast between hard and soft phases in AFM phase contrast imaging. The values of particle average diameter and particle aspect ratio of rubber particles in the nylon6 matrix are similar in AFM and TEM analyses, showing that both techniques can be used to distinguish phase morphology of polymer blends. It was also possible to detect an elongation of the rubber particles in the nylon6/SEBS-g-MA sample, caused by flow direction of the blend injection process.