Interfacial Structure between Different Polymers and its Adhesion

Interfacial structure is a controlling parameter in the behavior of many materials. Electron microscopy methods are widely used for characterizing such features as interface abruptness and chemical segregation at interfaces. The problem for high resolution microscopy is to establish optimum imaging conditions for extracting this information. We have found that off-axis electron holography can provide useful information for the study of interfaces that is not easily obtained by other techniques.Electron holography permits the recovery of both the amplitude and the phase of the image wave. Recent studies have applied the information obtained from electron holograms to characterizing magnetic and electric fields in materials and also to atomic-scale resolution enhancement. The phase of an electron wave passing through a specimen is shifted by an amount which is proportional to the product of the specimen thickness and the projected electrostatic potential (ignoring magnetic fields and diffraction effects). If atomic-scale variations are ignored, the potential in the specimen is described by the mean inner potential, a bulk property sensitive to both composition and structure. For the study of interfaces, the specimen thickness is assumed to be approximately constant across the interface, so that the phase of the image wave will give a picture of mean inner potential across the interface.

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A TEM study of the interface between organic matrix and aragonite in a biological hard tissue, nacre

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100129759 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 1024-1025

Author(s):

Jun Liu ◽

Katie E. Gunnison ◽

Mehmet Sarikaya ◽

Ilhan A. Aksay

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Laminated Composite ◽

Organic Matrix ◽

Pearl Oyster ◽

Interfacial Structure ◽

Interfacial Region ◽

Thin Sections ◽

Organic Layers ◽

Transmission Electron

The interfacial structure between the organic and inorganic phases in biological hard tissues plays an important role in controlling the growth and the mechanical properties of these materials. The objective of this work was to investigate these interfaces in nacre by transmission electron microscopy. The nacreous section of several different seashells -- abalone, pearl oyster, and nautilus -- were studied. Nacre is a laminated composite material consisting of CaCO3 platelets (constituting > 90 vol.% of the overall composite) separated by a thin organic matrix. Nacre is of interest to biomimetics because of its highly ordered structure and a good combination of mechanical properties. In this study, electron transparent thin sections were prepared by a low-temperature ion-beam milling procedure and by ultramicrotomy. To reveal structures in the organic layers as well as in the interfacial region, samples were further subjected to chemical fixation and labeling, or chemical etching. All experiments were performed with a Philips 430T TEM/STEM at 300 keV with a liquid Nitrogen sample holder.

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The use of charging effects in Al/Al2O3 metal matrix composite materials as contrast mechanism in the SEM

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100175247 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (4) ◽

pp. 422-423

Author(s):

Andreas M. Borchert

Keyword(s):

Secondary Electron ◽

Aluminum Matrix ◽

Interfacial Structure ◽

Resolving Power ◽

Coated Sample ◽

Material Combination ◽

Uncoated Sample ◽

Backscattered Electrons ◽

Contrast Mechanism ◽

Good Contrast

In Al/Al2O3 MMC's the metal/ceramic interfacial structure is of great concern because aluminum does not wet (i.e. bond) well to alumina. One proposed method to overcome this problem is to form a magnesium-rich spinel (MgAl2O4) as an additional phase between the aluminum matrix and the alumina particle. The spinel forms by diffusion of Mg from the matrix and improves the bonding. Typically the SEM would be the most suitable instrument to study the spinel, but this particular material combination (alumina/spinel) does not have sufficient secondary or backscattered electron contrast to allow for normal imaging. The purpose of this work was to develop a technique for examining the growth and morphology of this spinel at the Al/Al2O3 interface. Samples of an Al/Al2O3 MMC with a spinel at the particle interface were prepared according to standard metallographic procedures. Certain samples were sputter coated with a gold film of approximately 12 nm thickness; other samples were examined uncoated. Nonconductive, uncoated specimens charge under the incident electron beam if the accelerating voltage is below E1 or above E2 in Figure 1. In both of cases (below E1 and above E2) the number of electrons entering the sample is higher than the number of electrons leaving the sample. The resolving power of the SEM is usually degraded by this effect and therefore nonconductive specimens are coated with a layer of conductive material prior to observation. Figure 2 shows how this effect can create contrast between two materials due to its effect on the secondary electron detector bias voltage. Figure 3 shows that this contrast mechanism exists for the material combination alumina/spinel. The secondary electron image of a coated sample (3a) shows almost no contrast between alumina and spinel whereas the uncoated sample (3b) shows good contrast due to the different charging characteristics of the materials. The alumina charges stronger than the spinel and appears brighter in the image. The assumption that the effect is due to secondary electrons is supported by Figure 4. The micrograph in Figure 4a was obtained by backscattered electrons only and shows poor contrast whereas the micrograph in Figure 4b was obtained by secondary and backscattered electrons and shows good contrast. Figure 5 shows micrographs obtained at different operating voltages. The reduction in contrast at lower operating voltages is due to reduced charging.

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HRTEM simulation of interfacial structure in amorphous multilayers

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100154305 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 47 ◽

pp. 466-467

Author(s):

Margaret L. Sattler ◽

Michael A. O'Keefe

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

High Resolution ◽

Cross Section ◽

High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽

Interfacial Structure ◽

Multilayer Sample ◽

Resolution Electron ◽

Multilayered Materials ◽

Simulated Images

Multilayered materials have been fabricated with such high perfection that individual layers having two atoms deep are possible. Characterization of the interfaces between these multilayers is achieved by high resolution electron microscopy and Figure 1a shows the cross-section of one type of multilayer. The production of such an image with atomically smooth interfaces depends upon certain factors which are not always reliable. For example, diffusion at the interface may produce complex interlayers which are important to the properties of the multilayers but which are difficult to observe. Similarly, anomalous conditions of imaging or of fabrication may occur which produce images having similar traits as the diffusion case above, e.g., imaging on a tilted/bent multilayer sample (Figure 1b) or deposition upon an unaligned substrate (Figure 1c). It is the purpose of this study to simulate the image of the perfect multilayer interface and to compare with simulated images having these anomalies.

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Crystallography and interfacial structure of twinned shape memory martensite

Journal de Physique IV (Proceedings) ◽

10.1051/jp4:2003858 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 112 ◽

pp. 171-174 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D. Dunne ◽

D. Liu

Keyword(s):

Shape Memory ◽

Interfacial Structure

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The Reactive Formation of Diblock Copolymer at a Polymer/Polymer Interface and its Effect on Interfacial Structure

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-629-ff2.2 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 629 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jonathan S. Schulze ◽

Timothy P. Lodge ◽

Christopher W. Macosko

Keyword(s):

Molecular Weight ◽

Interfacial Structure ◽

Root Mean Square Roughness ◽

Radius Of Gyration ◽

Interfacial Region ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Amino Terminal ◽

Polymer Interface ◽

Atomic Force ◽

Time Required

ABSTRACTThe reaction of perdeuterated amino-terminal polystyrene (dPS-NH2) with anhydrideterminal poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA-anh) at a PS/PMMA interface has been observed with forward recoil spectrometry (FRES). Bilayer samples were constructed by placing thin films of PS containing ∼8.5 wt % dPS-NH2 on a PMMA-anh layer. Significant reaction was observed only after annealing the samples at 174°C for several hours, a time scale at least two orders of magnitude greater than the time required for the dPS-NH2 chains to diffuse through the bulk PS layer. The topography of the interfacial region as copolymer formed was measured using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Roughening of the PS/PMMA interface was observed to varying degrees in all annealed samples. Furthermore, the extent of this roughening was found to depend on the PS matrix molecular weight. Reaction in the samples with a high molecular weight PS matrix resulted in a root mean square roughness approximately equal to the radius of gyration Rg of the copolymer. However, approximately twice as much roughening was observed in the low molecular weight PS matrix. This study reveals how the molecular weight of one of the phases can affect the rate of reaction at a polymer/polymer interface.

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Bulk Contributions Modulate the Sum-Frequency Generation Spectra of Interfacial Water on Model Sea-Spray Aerosols

10.26434/chemrxiv.5743638 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Sandeep K. Reddy ◽

Raphael Thiraux ◽

Bethany A. Wellen Rudd ◽

Lu Lin ◽

Tehseen Adel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Single Layer ◽

Sum Frequency Generation ◽

Second Order ◽

Interfacial Structure ◽

Sea Spray ◽

Third Order ◽

Systematic Analysis ◽

Sum Frequency ◽

Structure Of Water ◽

Frequency Generation

Vibrational sum-frequency generation (vSFG) spectroscopy is used to determine the molecular structure of water at the interface of palmitic acid monolayers. Both measured and calculated spectra display speci c features due to third-order contributions to the vSFG response which are associated with nite interfacial electric potentials. We demonstrate that theoretical modeling enables to separate the third-order contributions, thus allowing for a systematic analysis of the strictly surface-sensitive, second-order component of the vSFG response. This study provides fundamental, molecular-level insights into the interfacial structure of water in a neutral surfactant system with relevance to single layer bio-membranes and environmentally relevant sea-spray aerosols. These results emphasize the key role that computer simulations can play in interpreting vSFG spectra and revealing microscopic details of water at complex interfaces, which can be difficult to extract from experiments due to the mixing of second-order, surface-sensitive and third-order, bulk-dependent contributions to the vSFG response.

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