Helium Ion Microscopy with Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry for Nanoscale Chemical Imaging and Analysis of Polyolefins

Petroleum based polyolefin plastics makeup a large part of the multicomponent/multiphase plastics we use in our daily lives. Multiple plastics are often compounded, laminated or coextruded in these multicomponent systems creating multiple phases and interfaces of varying strengths. Significant opportunity exists in developing strategies for enhancing interfacial properties as well as facilitating disposal of polyolefin plastics by upcycling of polymeric products for reuse. Thus, interfaces and chemically distinct phases in these materials need to be probed structurally and chemically at the relevant length scales. To date, chemical imaging of polymer and polymer blends has been primarily accomplished using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to directly visualize the distribution of components in a complex material with spatial resolution ranging from 100 nm to 5μm. However, in many cases this resolution falls far short of visualizing interfaces directly. To overcome these limitations recent work has focused on developing a SIMS detection system based on the helium ion microscope (HIM) enabling chemical imaging to ~14 nm. Here, we utilize the HIM-SIMS for quantitative differentiation between the olefin-based polymers of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). We illustrate both quantitative analysis for separating PE and PP using specific mass fragment ratios as well as demonstrate spatially resolved imaging of phase separated domains within PE thin films with ~14 nm chemical and ~2 nm morphological spatial resolutions. Overall, we demonstrate HIM-SIMS as a multimodal chemical technique for imaging and quantification of polyolefin interfaces, that could be more broadly applied to the analysis of multicomponent/multiphase polymeric systems.

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Intracellular boron localization and uptake in cell cultures using imaging secondary ion mass spectrometry (ion microscopy) for neutron capture therapy for cancer

Biology of the Cell ◽

10.1016/0248-4900(92)90015-s ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 74 (1) ◽

pp. 105-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Brian D. Bennett ◽

Xiaohui Zha ◽

Isabelle Gay ◽

George H. Morrison

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Cell Cultures ◽

Neutron Capture ◽

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry ◽

Neutron Capture Therapy ◽

Ion Mass Spectrometry ◽

Ion Microscopy ◽

Secondary Ion

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Helium ion microscope – secondary ion mass spectrometry for geological materials

Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology ◽

10.3762/bjnano.11.133 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 1504-1515

Author(s):

Matthew R Ball ◽

Richard J M Taylor ◽

Joshua F Einsle ◽

Fouzia Khanom ◽

Christelle Guillermier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Isotopic Analysis ◽

Green Economy ◽

Case Scenario ◽

Helium Ion ◽

Ion Mass Spectrometry ◽

Focussed Ion Beam ◽

Secondary Ion

The helium ion microscope (HIM) is a focussed ion beam instrument with unprecedented spatial resolution for secondary electron imaging but has traditionally lacked microanalytical capabilities. With the addition of the secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) attachment, the capabilities of the instrument have expanded to microanalysis of isotopes from Li up to hundreds of atomic mass units, effectively opening up the analysis of all natural and geological systems. However, the instrument has thus far been underutilised by the geosciences community, due in no small part to a lack of a thorough understanding of the quantitative capabilities of the instrument. Li represents an ideal element for an exploration of the instrument as a tool for geological samples, due to its importance for economic geology and a green economy, and the difficult nature of observing Li with traditional microanalytical techniques. Also Li represents a “best-case” scenario for isotopic measurements. Here we present details of sample preparation, instrument sensitivity, theoretical, and measured detection limits for both elemental and isotopic analysis as well as practicalities for geological sample analyses of Li alongside a discussion of potential geological use cases of the HIM–SIMS instrument.

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