# Atomic force microscopy-based photothermal infrared microscopy for aqueous environments using graphene-based microfluidic cells

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method using atomic force microscopy and graphene to study hydrated polymers in water, enabling the detection of polymer swelling.

## Contribution

The first integration of AFM-based PTIR with a graphene microfluidic system for polymer analysis in aqueous environments.

## Key findings

- Polymer swelling can be detected through changes in PTIR spectra under aqueous conditions.
- Graphene serves as an effective IR-transparent window in microfluidic cells for AFM-based PTIR measurements.

## Abstract

We present the first demonstration of atomic force microscopy-based photothermal-induced resonance (PTIR) measurements of hydrated polymers under aqueous conditions, utilizing microfluidic cells with a graphene layer as an atomically thin IR-transparent window. Our findings show that polymer swelling can be successfully detected through changes in the PTIR spectrum.

This study presents the first implementation of AFM-based photothermal IR microscopy, integrated with a graphene-based microfluidic system for polymer analysis in aqueous environments.