Qualitative Nanocharacterization of Silver Structures Synthesized from the Reduction of Complex Ions in Polymer Templates: An Inquiry-Based Introduction to Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy

This manuscript describes a laboratory exercise that allows students to use conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) for the analysis of electrodeposited, metallic structures. In addition to nanoscale electrical characterization with CAFM, this laboratory exercise also provides students with an opportunity to explore nanofabrication by electrodepositing metallic structures in the channels of a patterned, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) template. The goals of this experiment include characterization of electrodeposited structures with atomic force microscopy (AFM), assessing the conductivity of the electrodeposited structures by acquiring conductivity images, and determining the method of electrical conduction using current-voltage (I-V) curves collected with CAFM.