Three-Dimensional Characterization of Pigment Dispersion in Dried Paint Films Using Focused Ion Beam–Scanning Electron Microscopy

Abstract

The combination of integrated focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) serial sectioning and imaging techniques with image analysis provided quantitative characterization of three-dimensional (3D) pigment dispersion in dried paint films. The focused ion beam in a FIB-SEM dual beam system enables great control in slicing paints, and the sectioning process can be synchronized with SEM imaging providing high quality serial cross-section images for 3D reconstruction. Application of Euclidean distance map and ultimate eroded points image analysis methods can provide quantitative characterization of 3D particle distribution. It is concluded that 3D measurement of binder distribution in paints is effective to characterize the order of pigment dispersion in dried paint films.

Far‐reaching geometrical artefacts due to thermal decomposition of polymeric coatings around focused ion beam milled pigment particles

“…In the past, FIB‐SEM has been used for site specific cross sectioning and/or lamella extraction for transmission electron microscope imaging (White et al ., ; Lins et al ., ; Loos et al ., ; Beach et al ., ; Brunner et al ., , ; Brostow et al ., ; Kawahara et al ., ; Martínez et al ., ; Wong et al ., ; Firpo et al ., ; Qin et al ., ), destructive tomography (Kato et al ., ; Lin et al ., ; Olea‐Mejía et al ., ) and nanofabrication (Aubry et al ., ; Niihara et al ., ; Lee et al ., ; Schmied et al ., ; Orthacker et al ., ; Schmied et al ., ) of polymers and polymeric composites. Out of these examples, only a few studies have been dedicated to characterization of pristine organic coatings and paints (Lins et al ., ; Brunner et al ., , ; Brostow et al ., ; Lin et al ., ; Chen et al ., ; Doutre et al ., ). With respect to corrosion barrier coatings, FIB‐SEM characterization can provide quantitative nanoscale information about three dimensional distributions of pigment particles and pores in both pristine as well as corroded samples.…”

“…Dual beam instruments that combine focused ion beam with a scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) are extensively used for characterization of various materials ranging from semiconductors to biological tissue (Stevie et al, 2005;Volkert & Minor, 2007;Bassim et al, 2014), but have not been applied to analysis of organic corrosion barrier coatings. In the past, FIB-SEM has been used for site specific cross sectioning and/or lamella extraction for transmission electron microscope imaging (White et al, 2001;Lins et al, 2002;Loos et al, 2002;Beach et al, 2005;Brunner et al, 2006Brunner et al, , 2008Brostow et al, 2007;Kawahara et al, 2008;Martínez et al, 2008;Wong et al, 2010;Firpo et al, 2015;Qin et al, 2015), destructive tomography (Kato et al, 2007;Lin et al, 2012;Olea-Mejía et al, 2012) and nanofabrication (Aubry et al, 2002;Niihara et al, 2005;Lee et al, 2012;Schmied et al, 2012;Orthacker et al, 2014;Schmied et al, 2014) of polymers and polymeric composites. Out of these examples, only a few studies have been dedicated to characterization of pristine organic coatings and paints (Lins et al, 2002;Brunner et al, 2006Brunner et al, , 2008Brostow et al, 2007;Lin et al, 2012;Chen et al, 2013;Doutre et al, 2014).…”

Correlating Coating Quality of Coverage with Rheology for Mica-Based Paints

“…Techniques including mechanical profilometry and optical measurements [18], along with microscopy and spectroscopy, have been utilized [19,20]. Among the various microscopy techniques, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been utilized with great success [21]. A specular gloss, distinctness of image, and orange peel correlation with BYK instrumentation has been established for automotive paint appearance [22,23].…”

Three‐dimensional microstructure characterisation of thermoplastic polyolefin blends

“…Furthermore, the structures and spatial distribution are three-dimensional (3D), so trying to understand the microstructure using two-dimensional (2D) micrographs can be misleading. Among various 3D microscopy techniques, focused ion beam -scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) has a good balance of image resolution and field of view and is widely used for 3D structure characterisation (Kato et al, 2007;Lin et al, 2012;Lepinay & Lorut, 2013). One can mill and image a sample layer-by-layer and reconstruct the 3D structure using the image stack.…”