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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Scanning-probe Single-electron Capacitance Spectroscopy
Published on: July 30, 2013
Colloidal assemblies of branched geminis studied by cryo-etch-HRSEM. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy
Fredric M Menger1, Victor A Seredyuk, Robert P Apkarian
1Department of Chemistry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA. menger@emory.edu
Abstract:
Cryo-etch-HRSEM is introduced as a useful method for exploring colloidal systems. The method fast freezes an aqueous sample (to -105 degrees C in 6-7 ms), removes some or all of the surface water by sublimation (etching), and magnifies the resulting colloidal structure by up to a million. Three new structurally similar gemini surfactants served to illustrate the technique. One gemini formed a gel whose delicate fractal-like molecular web could be observed after 10-min etching. A second formed a coacervate with a more hydrated porous structure. The third displayed a "bumpy" surface consistent with spherical vesicles projecting from the vitreous ice. The information-content of cryo-etch-HRSEM is pictorial but distinctive in nature.
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