ABSTRACT
The microhardness technique was used for many years for the characterization of such “classical” materials as metals, alloys, and inorganic glasses. Its application to polymeric materials developed during the last several decades. Nowadays, the microhardness technique, being a nondestructive, sensitive, and relatively simple method, enjoys wide application, as can be concluded from the publications on the topic that have appeared during only the last five years-their number is more than 100, as shown by a routine computer-aided literature search. In addition to some methodological contributions to the technique, the microhardness method has been further successfully used to gain a deeper understanding of the microhardness-structure correlation o f polym ers, copolym ers, polym er blends, and composites. A very attractive feature of this technique is its ability for microme chanical characterization of some components, phases, or morphological entities that are otherwise inaccessible to direct determination of their microhardness.
