TY - JOUR
T1 - Energy-loss measurements of polymer microstructure and polymer interfaces
T2 - Issues and opportunities
AU - Siangchaew, K.
AU - Libera, M.
PY - 1997
Y1 - 1997
N2 - The traditional methods for studying polymer microstructure in the transmission electron microscope largely hinge on the use of differential heavy-element staining to induce amplitude contrast. However, adequate staining agents are not available for all polymer systems. Furthermore, nonlinearities in the distribution of stain, particularly at interfaces, degrade the achievable resolution. Spatially resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), on the other hand, provides a new opportunity to study polymer microstructure by providing rich spectroscopic features and high spatial resolution. Translating this opportunity into practice is underpinned by three main factors: (1) the availability of spectral fingerprints distinguishing various polymers; (2) the limits of achievable resolution; and (3) the ultimate constraints imposed by electron irradiation. This study discusses these issues and demonstrates the use of spatially resolved EELS with examples from hydrocarbon homopolymer and homopolymer blends of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), nylon 6/high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polystyrene/polyethylene (PS/PE).
AB - The traditional methods for studying polymer microstructure in the transmission electron microscope largely hinge on the use of differential heavy-element staining to induce amplitude contrast. However, adequate staining agents are not available for all polymer systems. Furthermore, nonlinearities in the distribution of stain, particularly at interfaces, degrade the achievable resolution. Spatially resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), on the other hand, provides a new opportunity to study polymer microstructure by providing rich spectroscopic features and high spatial resolution. Translating this opportunity into practice is underpinned by three main factors: (1) the availability of spectral fingerprints distinguishing various polymers; (2) the limits of achievable resolution; and (3) the ultimate constraints imposed by electron irradiation. This study discusses these issues and demonstrates the use of spatially resolved EELS with examples from hydrocarbon homopolymer and homopolymer blends of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), nylon 6/high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polystyrene/polyethylene (PS/PE).
KW - Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS)
KW - Nylon 6/HDPE
KW - PPS/PET
KW - PS/PE
KW - Polymer interfaces
KW - Polymer microstructure
KW - Spatially resolved EELS
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U2 - 10.1017/s1431927697970410
DO - 10.1017/s1431927697970410
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0031312322
SN - 1431-9276
VL - 3
SP - 530
EP - 539
JO - Microscopy and Microanalysis
JF - Microscopy and Microanalysis
IS - 6
ER -