A simple approach to observe non-conductive hydrated materials with FE-SEM: Case study on porous hydroxyapatite green bodies

Solvent effect on observation of nanostructural hydrated porous ceramic green bodies using hydrophilic ionic liquid

“…From a previous study, we observed the morphology of the sintered HAp green body and the HAp green bodies in different hydrous conditions using a FE-SEM. 28 Compared to the FE-SEM images of the sintered HAp, the sizes of the HAp particles observed using a TEM are almost similar. In the case of the hydrous HAp green bodies that had been stored in the humidity chamber at 90 to 50%, the SEM and TEM images are not comparable due to the limitation of the SEM observation using the IL.…”

“…The details of the materials, which were used for the fabrication of the HAp, have been described elsewhere. 28 The ionic liquid; 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetra-uoroborate ([BMIM][BF 4 ]) (Kanto Chem. Co., Japan) was used aer drying in vacuum desiccators at 60 C for 3 days.…”

“…These values are in good agreement with our previous work. 28,32 The porous HAp body sintered at 1000 C for 2 h had no water. We have already explained the details of this phenomenon in the previous studies.…”

“…25,26 Based on our previous reports, the hydrated agar gel, seaweed swelled by water and an HAp porous green body have been successfully observed using a eld emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). [27][28][29] The FE-SEM observation mechanism using the hydrophilic IL was also proposed. 29 In the porous HAp green body case, the morphological change of the sample and the shrinkage behavior of the pores during the drying process were revealed by the FE-SEM.…”

Ionic liquid-based observation technique for nonconductive materials in the scanning electron microscope: Application to the characterization of a rare earth ore

“…IL in the SEM was first used for in‐situ characterization of metal deposition on electrodes plunged in 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide as the electrolyte (Arimoto, ) as long as electrodes aging in working conditions (Arimoto et al, ). Takahashi et al reported the use of IL in agar gels (Takahashi et al, ) and wet porous hydroxyapatite green bodies specimens (Takahashi et al, ) prior to SEM observation. He reported the ease of sample preparation, the reducing of charging effects during electron beam irradiation of the sample and negligible shrinkage of the original structure of the specimens.…”