Frequency-dependent viscoelasticity measurement by atomic force microscopy

We demonstrate a new technique for investigating viscoelastic properties of soft materials using the atomic force microscope. A small oscillatory voltage is added to the deflection signal of the atomic force microscope causing a vertical oscillatory sample motion. Monitoring the amplitude and phase of this motion allows determination of the viscous and elastic moduli of the sample as a function of frequency during contact imaging. This technique is applied to suspended poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers and poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels, giving results similar to those measured using traditional static methods. However, the moduli of both the fibers and the hydrogels show a significant frequency dependence. The Young's modulus of the fibers increases with frequency, while for the viscoelastic hydrogels, the storage modulus dominates the mechanical response at low frequency whereas the loss modulus dominates at high frequency.