IR nanoimaging of self-assembled monolayers
neaSCOPE true background-free IR nanoimaging ( proprietary neaspec technology ) allows for ge-nuine nanoscale analysis of nanostructured polymers over ultra-large areas , avoiding misleading artifacts typical for other tip-enhanced IR techniques .
Imaging 20 µ m x 20 µ m area of a 10 nm thin self-assembled poly ( ethylen oxide ) monolayer at 1123 cm-1 ( asymmetric C-O-C stretching ) reveals fractal nature of the assembly process . Artifact-free detection delivers stable image contrast over the whole scan area , allowing for a reliable differentiation between mono and bilayer regions .
AFM phase Reflectivity Absorption
3 µ m monolayer bilayer
L . Nuic et al ., Polymer 2023 , 271,125795
A . Pereira et al ., Anal . Chem . 2022 , 92 , 4716 neaSCOPE characterizes functional polymer structures at the nanoscale .