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An Analytical Technique to Extract Surface Information of Negatively Stained or Heavy-Metal Shadowed Organic Materials within the TEM

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2013

Nadejda B. Matsko ,
Ilse Letofsky-Papst ,
Mihaela Albu  and
Vikas Mittal
Nadejda B. Matsko*
Affiliation:
Graz Centre for Electron Microscopy, Graz, Austria
Ilse Letofsky-Papst
Affiliation:
Institute for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
Mihaela Albu
Affiliation:
Graz Centre for Electron Microscopy, Graz, Austria
Vikas Mittal
Affiliation:
Chemical Engineering Department, ThePetroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Using a series of uranyl acetate stained or platinum-palladium shadowed organic samples, an empirical analytical method to extract surface information from energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) images is described. The distribution of uranium or platinum-palladium atoms, which replicate the sample surface topography, have been mathematically extracted by dividing the image acquired in the valence bulk plasmon energy region (between 20 and 30 eV) by the image acquired at the carbon K ionization edge (between 284 and 300 eV). The resulting plasmon-to-carbon ratio (PCR) image may be interpreted as a precise metal replica of the sample surface. In contrast to conventional EFTEM elemental mapping, including an absolute quantification approach, this technique can be applied to 200–600 nm thick organic samples. A combination of conventional TEM and PCR imaging allows one to detect complementary transmission and topographical information with nanometer precision of the same area of carbon-based samples. The advantages and limitations of PCR imaging are highlighted.

Keywords

EFTEMorganic materialsnegative stainingmetal shadowingtopographybulk plasmon
Type
Equipment and Techniques Development: Biological
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , June 2013 , pp. 642 - 651
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2013 

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Footnotes

†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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