Scanning Electron Microscopy of an 8 μm Thick ZrO2 Film

Author(s):  
R.A. Ploc ◽  
M.A. Miller

This abstract reports the occurrence of 'breakaway oxidation' for unalloyed zirconium in 300°C oxygen. An excellent review of zirconium and zirconium alloy oxidation can be found elsewhere (1).Approximately one dozen crystal bar zirconium coupons were placed in a resistance wound furnace held at 300°C and through which oxygen (initially passed through a silica gel dessicant) was passed. Over a period of three years, the samples accumulated over 700 days of oxidation time. The kinetics followed a rate law between cubic and parabolic until achieving an oxide thickness approximately 350 nm at which point 'breakaway' occurred. For instance, in one year the film increased in thickness from 0.35 to more than 8 μm. These thick, post-transition oxides were examined in the SEM.The samples were characterized by regions approximately 40 μm in diameter which spalled with a density of about 45 per cm2.

2018 ◽  
Vol 941 ◽  
pp. 426-431
Author(s):  
Lawrence Coghlan ◽  
Rebecca L. Higginson ◽  
Mark A.E. Jepson ◽  
Aya Shin ◽  
Jonathan Pearson

When 9Cr-1Mo steel is exposed to CO2-rich advance gas-cooled reactor (AGR) gases it forms a duplex oxide which consists of an outer Fe rich layer and an inner Cr rich spinel which provides oxidation resistance allowing the steel to resist the corrosive atmosphere of the plant. The oxide scale develops, growing both into the substrate and outwards from the initial metal/air interface. The spinel develops porosity through the coalescence of Fe vacancies which over time alters the properties of the oxide and potentially allows a transport network to form within the oxide. The porosity of the duplex oxide was measured using scanning electron microscopy of oxides on 9Cr steel samples oxidised in a CO2 atmosphere. Results show that samples which have suffered breakaway oxidation show larger oxide scales with alternating Fe/Cr bands whereas samples which have yet to suffer from breakaway show higher peak porosity values but thinner oxide scales. Furthermore the samples which are currently under protective oxidation show a high max porosity peak in comparison to those which have suffered breakaway.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoulu Yang ◽  
Sha Luo ◽  
Anxiang Huang ◽  
Yang Luo ◽  
Dan Li ◽  
...  

AbstractBamboo is readily discolored by mold fungi, which greatly limits its applications. An effective antifungal agent, copper(II) chloride (CuCl2)-grafted silica gel, was prepared by a sol–gel process using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)/3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) mixtures. The elemental composition and the chemical combinations of homogeneous sol mixture (HSM) and bamboo were determined via Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDS). The mold resistance of bamboo treated with HSM, alkaline copper quat (ACQ), chromated copper arsenate (CCA), and purified water was characterized by an indoor mold test. The micro-morphology of bamboo treated with HSM was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). HSM penetrated into the bamboo vessels, and formed xerogels, which was able to coordinate copper(II) cations. SEM–EDS investigations suggest that Si–O–Cu linkages may be formed through an exchange reaction between silanol groups and copper complexes. The bamboo samples treated with HSM showed highly efficient mold resistance due to a good penetration of HSM. Furthermore, no fungal hyphae were found in the structure of HSM-treated bamboo after a 5-week mold test. The copper complexes grafted to silica gel developed in this work provide an efficient antifungal agent for a wide range of potential applications in bamboo protection.


Author(s):  
P.S. Porter ◽  
T. Aoyagi ◽  
R. Matta

Using standard techniques of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), over 1000 human hair defects have been studied. In several of the defects, the pathogenesis of the abnormality has been clarified using these techniques. It is the purpose of this paper to present several distinct morphologic abnormalities of hair and to discuss their pathogenesis as elucidated through techniques of scanning electron microscopy.


Author(s):  
P.J. Dailey

The structure of insect salivary glands has been extensively investigated during the past decade; however, none have attempted scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in ultrastructural examinations of these secretory organs. This study correlates fine structure by means of SEM cryofractography with that of thin-sectioned epoxy embedded material observed by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM).Salivary glands of Gromphadorhina portentosa were excised and immediately submerged in cold (4°C) paraformaldehyde-glutaraldehyde fixative1 for 2 hr, washed and post-fixed in 1 per cent 0s04 in phosphosphate buffer (4°C for 2 hr). After ethanolic dehydration half of the samples were embedded in Epon 812 for TEM and half cryofractured and subsequently critical point dried for SEM. Dried specimens were mounted on aluminum stubs and coated with approximately 150 Å of gold in a cold sputtering apparatus.Figure 1 shows a cryofractured plane through a salivary acinus revealing topographical relief of secretory vesicles.


Author(s):  
Nakazo Watari ◽  
Yasuaki Hotta ◽  
Yoshio Mabuchi

It is very useful if we can observe the identical cell elements within the same sections by light microscopy (LM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and/or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) sequentially, because, the cell fine structure can not be indicated by LM, while the color is; on the other hand, the cell fine structure can be very easily observed by EM, although its color properties may not. However, there is one problem in that LM requires thick sections of over 1 μm, while EM needs very thin sections of under 100 nm. Recently, we have developed a new method to observe the same cell elements within the same plastic sections using both light and transmission (conventional or high-voltage) electron microscopes.In this paper, we have developed two new observation methods for the identical cell elements within the same sections, both plastic-embedded and paraffin-embedded, using light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and/or scanning electron microscopy (Fig. 1).


Author(s):  
Ronald H. Bradley ◽  
R. S. Berk ◽  
L. D. Hazlett

The nude mouse is a hairless mutant (homozygous for the mutation nude, nu/nu), which is born lacking a thymus and possesses a severe defect in cellular immunity. Spontaneous unilateral cataractous lesions were noted (during ocular examination using a stereomicroscope at 40X) in 14 of a series of 60 animals (20%). This transmission and scanning microscopic study characterizes the morphology of this cataract and contrasts these data with normal nude mouse lens.All animals were sacrificed by an ether overdose. Eyes were enucleated and immersed in a mixed fixative (1% osmium tetroxide and 6% glutaraldehyde in Sorenson's phosphate buffer pH 7.4 at 0-4°C) for 3 hours, dehydrated in graded ethanols and embedded in Epon-Araldite for transmission microscopy. Specimens for scanning electron microscopy were fixed similarly, dehydrated in graded ethanols, then to graded changes of Freon 113 and ethanol to 100% Freon 113 and critically point dried in a Bomar critical point dryer using Freon 13 as the transition fluid.


Author(s):  
Jane A. Westfall ◽  
S. Yamataka ◽  
Paul D. Enos

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provides three dimensional details of external surface structures and supplements ultrastructural information provided by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Animals composed of watery jellylike tissues such as hydras and other coelenterates have not been considered suitable for SEM studies because of the difficulty in preserving such organisms in a normal state. This study demonstrates 1) the successful use of SEM on such tissue, and 2) the unique arrangement of batteries of nematocysts within large epitheliomuscular cells on tentacles of Hydra littoralis.Whole specimens of Hydra were prepared for SEM (Figs. 1 and 2) by the fix, freeze-dry, coat technique of Small and Màrszalek. The specimens were fixed in osmium tetroxide and mercuric chloride, freeze-dried in vacuo on a prechilled 1 Kg brass block, and coated with gold-palladium. Tissues for TEM (Figs. 3 and 4) were fixed in glutaraldehyde followed by osmium tetroxide. Scanning micrographs were taken on a Cambridge Stereoscan Mark II A microscope at 10 KV and transmission micrographs were taken on an RCA EMU 3G microscope (Fig. 3) or on a Hitachi HU 11B microscope (Fig. 4).


Author(s):  
J.N. Ramsey ◽  
D.P. Cameron ◽  
F.W. Schneider

As computer components become smaller the analytical methods used to examine them and the material handling techniques must become more sensitive, and more sophisticated. We have used microbulldozing and microchiseling in conjunction with scanning electron microscopy, replica electron microscopy, and microprobe analysis for studying actual and potential problems with developmental and pilot line devices. Foreign matter, corrosion, etc, in specific locations are mechanically loosened from their substrates and removed by “extraction replication,” and examined in the appropriate instrument. The mechanical loosening is done in a controlled manner by using a microhardness tester—we use the attachment designed for our Reichert metallograph. The working tool is a pyramid shaped diamond (a Knoop indenter) which can be pushed into the specimen with a controlled pressure and in a specific location.


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