https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap/2025026
Original Article
Solvent-induced softening of polymethyl methacrylate surfaces studied using atomic force microscopy
Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
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Received:
15
February
2025
Accepted:
17
September
2025
Published online: 17 October 2025
Abstract
Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is an important plastic in society and museum collections. In heritage collections it is often important to clean and conserve items. Since ethanol is potentially a green solvent with low toxicity, it is of fundamental value to study the interactions between PMMA and ethanol. PMMA is also used extensively for micro- and nanofabrication, for example as a negative photoresist or electron beam resist. Understanding the interaction between PMMA and ethanol at the nanoscale, particularly over extended periods of contact, could yield a deeper understanding of the technologies realizable with this versatile polymer.
Key words: Atomic force microscopy / ethanol / polymethyl methacrylate / topography / Young's modulus
© P. Morfis et al., Published by EDP Sciences, 2025
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
