INFLUENCE OF SPECIFIC THERMAL TREATMENT ON YOUNG'S MODULUS CHANGES IN A NATURAL RUBBER–BASED COMPOUND: STUDY BY AFM NANOINDENTATION

ABSTRACT The determination and study of Young's modulus at the nanometric scale in an efficient and fast way is carried out using atomic force microscopy (AFM) in contact mode. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a specific thermal treatment on Young's modulus changes from the surface toward the bulk of a cured natural rubber (NR)–based compound. The AFM nanoindentation experiments were conducted on a cross-linked NR sample. Following a depth profiling analysis method, AFM deflection distance curves were measured every 40 μm from the oxygen-exposed surface toward the bulk, and then the Hertz's model was applied to force-indentation curves for the calculation of the Young's modulus. Investigations on the thermal-treated samples revealed an overall increase of the Young's modulus along the samples after heating. Moreover, a decrease of Young's modulus values from the surface exposed to oxygen during heating toward the bulk was observed, indicating a stiffening of the sample at the surface.