New opportunities in transmission electron microscopy of polymers

Kuei, Brooke; Aplan, Melissa P.; Litofsky, Joshua H.; Gomez, Enrique D.

doi:10.1016/j.mser.2019.100516

Cited by 40 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 250 publications

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“…Mapping chain packing in solution-processable conjugated polymers is crucial to identify the structural features responsible for charge conduction that is needed to enable a variety of organic optoelectronics [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] . Generally, these materials appear much more beam sensitive than the aforementioned examples, such that HRTEM has mostly focused on imaging lamellar alkyl stacking at about 15-20 Å 19,23,24 . HRTEM of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5diyl) (P3HT), for example, reveals how P3HT crystals are ordered within fibrils 25 and how molecular weight affects the extension of crystalline lamellae 26 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Pushing the limits of high-resolution polymer microscopy using antioxidants

Kuei

Gomez

2021

Nat Commun

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High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) has been transformative to the field of polymer science, enabling the direct imaging of molecular structures. Although some materials have remarkable stability under electron beams, most HRTEM studies are limited by the electron dose the sample can handle. Beam damage of conjugated polymers is not yet fully understood, but it has been suggested that the diffusion of secondary reacting species may play a role. As such, we examine the effect of the addition of antioxidants to a series of solution-processable conjugated polymers as an approach to mitigating beam damage. Characterizing the effects of beam damage by calculating critical dose DC values from the decay of electron diffraction peaks shows that beam damage of conjugated polymers in the TEM can be minimized by using antioxidants at room temperature, even if the antioxidant does not alter or incorporate into polymer crystals. As a consequence, the addition of antioxidants pushes the resolution limit of polymer microscopy, enabling imaging of a 3.6 Å lattice spacing in poly[(5,6-difluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazol-4,7-diyl)-alt-(3,3″′-di(2-octyldodecyl)-2,2′;5′,2″;5″,2″′-quaterthiophene-5,5″′-diyl)] (PffBT4T-2OD).

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confidence: 99%

Pushing the limits of high-resolution polymer microscopy using antioxidants

Kuei

Gomez

2021

Nat Commun

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“…[575][576][577][578][579][580][581][582][583] High-resolution transmission electron microscopy has also been employed to image polymer samples with resolutions as low as 3.6 Å. [584][585][586] Super-resolution optical microscopy has also been introduced to visualize morphological evolution of polymer systems upon solvent swelling, which offers advantages of large imaging volume, non-invasive imaging condition and customizable contrast by fluorophore labeling. [587][588][589][590][591][592][593][594][595][596] Finally, theoretical and computational approaches are still at the forefront for providing significant insights about BCP aligning kinetics and recent studies have enabled understanding of processing-dependent polymer properties using dynamics self-consistent field theory (SCFT) and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics.…”

Section: Advanced Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing Anisotropy in Self‐Assembled Block Copolymers: Methods, Properties, and Applications

Robertson

Zhou

et al. 2021

Macromol. Rapid Commun.

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Block copolymers (BCPs) self-assembly has continually attracted interest as a means to provide bottom-up control over nanostructures. While various methods have been demonstrated for efficiently ordering BCP nanodomains, most of them do not generically afford control of nanostructural orientation. For many applications of BCPs, such as energy storage, microelectronics, and separation membranes, alignment of nanodomains is a key requirement for enabling their practical use or enhancing materials performance. This review focuses on summarizing research progress on the development of anisotropy in BCP systems, covering a variety of topics from established aligning techniques, resultant material properties, and the associated applications. Specifically, the significance of aligning nanostructures and the anisotropic properties of BCPs is discussed and highlighted by demonstrating a few promising applications. Finally, the challenges and outlook are presented to further implement aligned BCPs into practical nanotechnological applications, where exciting opportunities exist.

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“…A transmission electron microscope (TEM) is one of the most powerful microscopes available today which is used as an analytical tool to analyze and visualize the samples in the realm of a nanoscale [153,154]. TEM and light microscopes both operate on the same basic principles; however, the major difference between them is that TEM uses electrons instead of light.…”

Section: Transmission Electron Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The electrons transmitted through the samples are collected from below through a camera or onto a phosphorescent screen to obtain the images. The dark part of the image represents the areas in the sample through which very few or no electrons are transmitted, the brighter part represents the areas through which more electrons are transmitted, and a range of grey color patterns are obtained depending on the way the electrons interact with the sample [153,154]. The most tedious part of TEM analysis is sample preparation, which requires a lot of time as the samples should be very thin in order to transmit sufficient electrons through with minimum energy loss [155].…”

Section: Transmission Electron Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

Microscopic Techniques for the Analysis of Micro and Nanostructures of Biopolymers and Their Derivatives

et al. 2020

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Natural biopolymers, a class of materials extracted from renewable sources, is garnering interest due to growing concerns over environmental safety; biopolymers have the advantage of biocompatibility and biodegradability, an imperative requirement. The synthesis of nanoparticles and nanofibers from biopolymers provides a green platform relative to the conventional methods that use hazardous chemicals. However, it is challenging to characterize these nanoparticles and fibers due to the variation in size, shape, and morphology. In order to evaluate these properties, microscopic techniques such as optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are essential. With the advent of new biopolymer systems, it is necessary to obtain insights into the fundamental structures of these systems to determine their structural, physical, and morphological properties, which play a vital role in defining their performance and applications. Microscopic techniques perform a decisive role in revealing intricate details, which assists in the appraisal of microstructure, surface morphology, chemical composition, and interfacial properties. This review highlights the significance of various microscopic techniques incorporating the literature details that help characterize biopolymers and their derivatives.

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New opportunities in transmission electron microscopy of polymers

Cited by 40 publications

References 250 publications

Pushing the limits of high-resolution polymer microscopy using antioxidants

Pushing the limits of high-resolution polymer microscopy using antioxidants

Developing Anisotropy in Self‐Assembled Block Copolymers: Methods, Properties, and Applications

Microscopic Techniques for the Analysis of Micro and Nanostructures of Biopolymers and Their Derivatives

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