New developments in polymer science through polymer chain imaging : empirical foundation research using scanning near-field optical microscopy

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The spatial dimensions ranging from 10nm to 100nm, which is called the critical length in polymer science, have been visualized by scanning near-field optical microscopy with an extremely high sensitivity and a high resolution. This emerging technology enabled us to show up the real images of single polymer chains embedded in polymer matrices and molecular assemblies. Consequently, the macroscopic physical properties and functions of polymeric materials, that used to be studied by statistics and/or analytical models, have come to be molecular level subjects investigated from a real image of polymer chain.