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TEM Sample Preparation of Polymer Based Nanocomposites using Focused Ion Beam Technique

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

H. Miyagawa ,
W.-A. Chiou  and
I.M. Daniel
H. Miyagawa
Affiliation:
Center for Intelligent Processing of Compsites, Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208
W.-A. Chiou
Affiliation:
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208 Now at: , Department of Chemical & Biochemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697
I.M. Daniel
Affiliation:
Center for Intelligent Processing of Compsites, Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208
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Abstract

Recently, several studies have been conducted to investigate the behavior of polymer based composites reinforced with clay particles, which can remarkably improve the properties of the polymers. Studies using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are necessary to understand the role of clay minerals/particles in the reinforcing effect in the polymer based materials. TEM sample preparation of polymer/clay nanocomposites using conventional techniques has been difficult and tedious. Nevertheless, the focused ion beam (FIB) technique for preparing metal and ceramic samples provides another method for preparing polymer nanocomposite samples. This paper presents a new approach for preparing TEM specimens of the polymer nanocomposites using the FIB technique.

Two types of epoxy (Dow Chemical Company, DER 331) nanocomposite samples were investigated: one containing 7.5 wt.% organomontmorillonite clay (Southern Clay Products Inc., Cloisite 30B) and the other (carbon fiber reinforced plastics; CFRP) containing carbon fibers (Hexel Fibers, AS4) in addition to 5 wt. % clay. Details of preparing the epoxy based clay nanocomposites will be published elsewhere. Procedures for preparing TEM thin sections using FIB were based on techniques developed by Ramirez de Arellano et al.

Type
Applications and Developments of Focused Ion Beam (FIB) Instruments (Organized by L. Giannuzzi)
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 7 , Issue S2: Proceedings: Microscopy & Microanalysis 2001, Microscopy Society of America 59th Annual Meeting, Microbeam Analysis Society 35th Annual Meeting, Long Beach, California August 5-9, 2001 , August 2001 , pp. 946 - 947
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2001

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References

references

1.LeBaron, P. C.et al., Applied Clay Science, 15(1999) 11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. See ref. in Chiou, W. -A.et. al., in Bennett, R. H.et. al., Microstructure of Fine-Grained Sediments: From Mud to Shale: Springer-Verlag (1991) 333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Ishitani, T.et al., Journal of Electron Microscopy, 43(1994) 332.Google Scholar
4.Ramirez de Arellano Lopez, A.et.al., Microsc. Microanal 4 (suppl.2) (1998) 860.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. This research made use of MRC Facilities supported by the NSF (DMR-9632742) at NU.Google Scholar