Automated Image Acquisition of Polymer Blend Morphology in an SEM

Modern semi-crystalline polymers based on olefin chemistry are receiving a lot of attention due to their low cost of manufacture and the ability to tailor properties by controlling polymer morphology. A common technique to visualize polymer morphology is transmission electron microscopy (TEM), with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microscopy today 2008-05, Vol.16 (3), p.24-27
Main Authors: Todd, Clifford S., Blackson, John, Bar, Georg, Garcia-Meitin, Eddy, Reuschle, David, Janus, Michael, Darus, Mark, Nickles, Annabel
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
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Summary:Modern semi-crystalline polymers based on olefin chemistry are receiving a lot of attention due to their low cost of manufacture and the ability to tailor properties by controlling polymer morphology. A common technique to visualize polymer morphology is transmission electron microscopy (TEM), with the use of appropriate contrast-enhancing heavy metal stains. One of the difficulties in obtaining a TEM image is the need to prepare an ultra-thin section. Alternative approaches that do not rely on sectioning, such as AFM and SEM imaging of a prepared block face, have shown some promise for gross morphology characterization (μm-scale) but in most cases lacked the detail that can be observed by TEM.
ISSN:1551-9295
2150-3583
DOI:10.1017/S1551929500059228