Composites and coating constituents: Thermoplastic elastomer

The imaged material is a blend of Polypropylene and EPDM, which is the commonest form of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE). This material is widely used for automobile interiors (indoor panels) and bumpers. Pulsed Force images obtained on TPE material are shown on figures 1,2,3.

Figure1 illustrates an adhesion map on coating material. Brighter color contrast means higher adhesion. The data show that the adhesion of EPDM is higher than that of polypropylene.
Topography image of the same scan area is shown on Figure2. Please, note all 3 images, adhesion map, stiffness map and topography are obtained simultaneously.

Polypropylene is the hard segment, and EPDM is the soft segment. Compared to EPDM, polypropylene has higher stiffness. In the stiffness area, Figure3, the brighter color contrast means higher stiffness.