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Published on: September 14, 2018
High-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy on carbon-based functional polymer systems
Erwan Sourty1, Svetlana van Bavel, Kangbo Lu
1Laboratory of Materials and Interface Chemistry and Soft-Matter CryoTEM Research Unit, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, NL-5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Summary
High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) reveals nanoscale details in carbon-based polymers, outperforming conventional transmission electron microscopy (CTEM) for interface and domain analysis.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Science
- Electron Microscopy
Background:
- Functional polymer systems are crucial for advanced applications like polymer solar cells.
- Understanding nanoscale organization is key to optimizing material performance.
- Conventional transmission electron microscopy (CTEM) has limitations in resolving fine structural details.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the capabilities of HAADF-STEM for analyzing carbon-based polymer systems.
- To compare HAADF-STEM with CTEM for imaging polymer-nanoparticle and polymer blend morphologies.
- To demonstrate HAADF-STEM's effectiveness in revealing nanoscale organization and interfaces.
Main Methods:
- Bright-field conventional transmission electron microscopy (CTEM).
- High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) with variable camera length.
- Analysis of a carbon black (CB) filled polymer system.
- Analysis of a functional polymer blend for polymer solar cells.
Main Results:
- HAADF-STEM provided high contrast imaging of carbon black agglomerates within a polymer matrix.
- Nanoscale organization details in a functional polymer blend, not visible with CTEM, were resolved.
- Varying camera length in HAADF-STEM enhanced contrast between crystalline and amorphous domains, identifying nanoscale interconnections.
Conclusions:
- HAADF-STEM offers superior resolution and contrast for characterizing carbon-based polymer systems compared to CTEM.
- The technique is effective for detailed analysis of interfaces and nanoscale domain structures.
- HAADF-STEM's incoherent imaging characteristics ensure reliable data interpretation for materials science research.
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