Fig. 4: Conductivity measurements of ACC samples using C-AFM. | Nature Communications

Fig. 4: Conductivity measurements of ACC samples using C-AFM.

From: Colloidal pathways of amorphous calcium carbonate formation lead to distinct water environments and conductivity

Fig. 4

a AFM amplitude map recorded in non-contact mode (NCM) during the investigation of a polymer stabilized ACC sample (PAsp_ACC). Individual ACC nanoparticles are visible. b Results of C-AFM spectroscopy measurements of polymer-stabilized ACC of the area as shown in (a). The slope of the I/V diagram close to the origin is shown versus the Z-height of the respective measurement point. The grey part shows the standard deviation of 100 measurements on the gold wafer and is a measure for the highest conductivity that can be measured using this approach. c NCM amplitude map for a different area of the same polymer-stabilized ACC sample showing a large structure of several µm in diameter and d corresponding C-AFM results, showing good conductivity across a measurement distance of several 100 nm (more details are shown in Supplementary Fig. 24). e NCM amplitude map for a polymer-free ACC sample and f corresponding C-AFM results, showing good conductivity up to a Z-height of 100 nm (more details are shown in Supplementary Fig. 23).

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