scholarly journals Super-Lubricious, Fullerene-like, Hydrogenated Carbon Films

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Zhang ◽  
Kaixiong Gao ◽  
Yuanlie Yu ◽  
Junyan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Films

Production and STEM examination of controlled-size silver clusters

1983 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 338-339
Author(s):  
M. A. Listvan ◽  
R. P. Andres
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Size ◽  
Metal Clusters ◽  
Experimental Parameter ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Metal Species ◽  
Silver Clusters ◽  
Free Jet ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Cluster Properties ◽  
Controllable Size

Knowledge of the function and structure of small metal clusters is one goal of research in catalysis. One important experimental parameter is cluster size. Ideally, one would like to produce metal clusters of regulated size in order to characterize size-dependent cluster properties.A source has been developed which is capable of producing microscopic metal clusters of controllable size (in the range 5-500 atoms) This source, the Multiple Expansion Cluster Source, with a Free Jet Deceleration Filter (MECS/FJDF) operates as follows. The bulk metal is heated in an oven to give controlled concentrations of monomer and dimer which were expanded sonically. These metal species were quenched and condensed in He and filtered to produce areosol particles of a controlled size as verified by mass spectrometer measurements. The clusters were caught on pre-mounted, clean carbon films. The grids were then transferred in air for microscopic examination. MECS/FJDF was used to produce two different sizes of silver clusters for this study: nominally Ag6 and Ag50.

Characterization of microtubules by dark-field STEM and replication

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 152-153
Author(s):  
S.B. Andrews ◽  
R.D. Leapman ◽  
P.E. Gallant ◽  
T.S. Reese
Keyword(s):  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Low Dose ◽  
Unit Length ◽  
Dark Field ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
Freeze Dried ◽  
Protein Motors ◽  
Associated Proteins

As part of a study on protein interactions involved in microtubule (MT)-based transport, we used the VG HB501 field-emission STEM to obtain low-dose dark-field mass maps of isolated, taxol-stabilized MTs and correlated these micrographs with detailed stereo images from replicas of the same MTs. This approach promises to be useful for determining how protein motors interact with MTs. MTs prepared from bovine and squid brain tubulin were purified and free from microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). These MTs (0.1-1 mg/ml tubulin) were adsorbed to 3-nm evaporated carbon films supported over Formvar nets on 600-m copper grids. Following adsorption, the grids were washed twice in buffer and then in either distilled water or in isotonic or hypotonic ammonium acetate, blotted, and plunge-frozen in ethane/propane cryogen (ca. -185 C). After cryotransfer into the STEM, specimens were freeze-dried and recooled to ca.-160 C for low-dose (<3000 e/nm2) dark-field mapping. The molecular weights per unit length of MT were determined relative to tobacco mosaic virus standards from elastic scattering intensities. Parallel grids were freeze-dried and rotary shadowed with Pt/C at 14°.

Benzylamine Tartrate as an Organic Glass Substrate for Carbon Films by Evaporation

1970 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 484-485
Author(s):  
A. C. Faberge
Keyword(s):  
Vapor Pressure ◽  
Viscous Liquid ◽  
Glass Substrate ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Carbon Film ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Organic Glass ◽  
Spectroscopic Examination ◽  
Polymeric Substrates

Benzylamine tartrate (m.p. 63°C) seems to be a better and more convenient substrate for making carbon films than any of those previously proposed. Using it in the manner described, it is easy consistently to make batches of specimen grids as open as 200 mesh with no broken squares, and without individual handling of the grids. Benzylamine tartrate (hereafter called B.T.) is a viscous liquid when molten, which sets to a glass. Unlike polymeric substrates it does not swell before dissolving; such swelling of the substrate seems to be a principal cause of breakage of carbon film. Mass spectroscopic examination indicates a vapor pressure less than 10−9 Torr at room temperature.

Object Wave Determination by Single-Sideband Methods

1973 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 266-267
Author(s):  
Kenneth H. Downing ◽  
Benjamin M. Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Phase Shift ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Object Wave ◽  
Electron Wave ◽  
Phase Object ◽  
Heavy Atoms ◽  
Single Sideband ◽  
Thin Carbon ◽  
Additional Phase Shift ◽  
Additional Phase

Under the “weak phase object” approximation, the component of the electron wave scattered by an object is phase shifted by π/2 with respect to the unscattered component. This phase shift has been confirmed for thin carbon films by many experiments dealing with image contrast and the contrast transfer theory. There is also an additional phase shift which is a function of the atomic number of the scattering atom. This shift is negligible for light atoms such as carbon, but becomes significant for heavy atoms as used for stains for biological specimens. The light elements are imaged as phase objects, while those atoms scattering with a larger phase shift may be imaged as amplitude objects. There is a great deal of interest in determining the complete object wave, i.e., both the phase and amplitude components of the electron wave leaving the object.

Interpretation of irradiation-induced changes in electron diffractograms and images of extinction contours at low temperatures

1984 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 268-269
Author(s):  
E. Knapek ◽  
H. Formanek ◽  
G. Lefranc ◽  
I. Dietrich
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Organic Crystals ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
Lens System ◽  
Preparation Conditions ◽  
Thin Carbon ◽  
Electron Diffractograms ◽  
Diffraction Patterns ◽  
Induced Changes

A few years ago results on cryoprotection of L-valine were reported, where the values of the critical fluence De i.e, the electron exposure which decreases the intensity of the diffraction reflections by a factor e, amounted to the order of 2000 + 1000 e/nm2. In the meantime a discrepancy arose, since several groups published De values between 100 e/nm2 and 1200 e/nm2 /1 - 4/. This disagreement and particularly the wide spread of the results induced us to investigate more thoroughly the behaviour of organic crystals at very low temperatures during electron irradiation.For this purpose large L-valine crystals with homogenuous thickness were deposited on holey carbon films, thin carbon films or Au-coated holey carbon films. These specimens were cooled down to nearly liquid helium temperature in an electron microscope with a superconducting lens system and irradiated with 200 keU-electrons. The progress of radiation damage under different preparation conditions has been observed with series of electron diffraction patterns and direct images of extinction contours.

Quality films from carbon fiber evaporation for thorough coverage of TEM grids

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 418-419
Author(s):  
N. Tempel ◽  
M. C. Ledbetter
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Low Noise ◽  
Vacuum Evaporation ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Good Adhesion ◽  
Noise Structure ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
Carbon Foils

Carbon films have been a support of choice for high resolution electron microscopy since the introduction of vacuum evaporation of carbon. The desirable qualities of carbon films and methods of producing them has been extensively reviewed. It is difficult to get a high yield of grids by many of these methods, especially if virtually all of the windows must be covered with a tightly bonded, quality film of predictable thickness. We report here a method for producing carbon foils designed to maximize these attributes: 1) coverage of virtually all grid windows, 2) freedom from holes, wrinkles or folds, 3) good adhesion between film and grid, 4) uniformity of film and low noise structure, 5) predictability of film thickness, and 6) reproducibility.Our method utilizes vacuum evaporation of carbon from a fiber onto celloidin film and grid bars, adhesion of the film complex to the grid by carbon-carbon contact, and removal of the celloidin by acetone dissolution. Materials must be of high purity, and cleanliness must be rigorously maintained.

The Morphology and Crystallography of Diesel Particulate Emissions

1981 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 148-149
Author(s):  
R. Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Diffraction Pattern ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Particulate Emissions ◽  
Diesel Particulate ◽  
Amorphous Carbon Films ◽  
Turbostratic Carbon ◽  
Diesel Particles ◽  
Tem Mode ◽  
Exhaust Stream ◽  
Diffraction Patterns

A study has been made of the morphology and crystallography of particulate emissions from indirect injection diesel engines. This particulate matter consists substantially of carbon (although hydrocarbons can be extracted with solvents). Samples were collected in a diluted exhaust stream on amorphous carbon films and examined in a JEM-200C electron microscope operated in the TEM mode with an accelerating voltage of 200 KV.The morphology of the diesel particles, as shown in Fig. 1, markedly resembles carbon blacks and consists of an agglomeration of quasispherical subunits arranged in chains or clusters. Only limited changes in morphology were observed as the number of subunits in the particle increased (although larger particles tended to be more cluster-like than the extended chain shown in Fig. 1). However, a dramatic effect of the number of subunits was observed on the character of the diffraction pattern. Smaller particles yielded a diffraction pattern consisting of very diffuse rings typical of turbostratic carbon; the diffraction patterns from the larger particles, however, although qualitatively similar, exhibited much sharper and less diffuse ring patterns.

Scanning Secondary Electron Microscopy of Myofibrils Using Transmission Techniques

1975 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 556-557
Author(s):  
M. K. Lamvik
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Photographic Recording ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Thin Carbon ◽  
The Common ◽  
Scanning Electron ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Cellular Organelles

When observing small objects such as cellular organelles by scanning electron microscopy, it is often valuable to use the techniques of transmission electron microscopy. The common practice of mounting and coating for SEM may not always be necessary. These possibilities are illustrated using vertebrate skeletal muscle myofibrils.Micrographs for this study were made using a Hitachi HFS-2 scanning electron microscope, with photographic recording usually done at 60 seconds per frame. The instrument was operated at 25 kV, with a specimen chamber vacuum usually better than 10-7 torr. Myofibrils were obtained from rabbit back muscle using the method of Zak et al. To show the component filaments of this contractile organelle, the myofibrils were partially disrupted by agitation in a relaxing medium. A brief centrifugation was done to clear the solution of most of the undisrupted myofibrils before a drop was placed on the grid. Standard 3 mm transmission electron microscope grids covered with thin carbon films were used in this study.

HREM observations of internetallic alloy formation in Pt-Sn thin films

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-53
Author(s):  
D.C. Dufner
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Solid State Reactions ◽  
Alloy Formation ◽  
Reaction Behavior ◽  
Interdiffusion Process ◽  
Compositional Changes ◽  
General Goal ◽  
Film Method

The general goal of this research is to clarify mechanisms of solid state reactions at the atomic level as a step in the rationalization of macroscopic reaction behavior in solids. A study of intermetallic alloy formation resulting from interdiffusion of metals in thin films can be made by HREM. In this work, reactions between Pt and Sn in thin films are studied to elucidate mechanisms for structural and compositional changes during the interdiffusion process.Thin films of Pt and Sn used in this study were prepared by the two-film method introduced by Shiojiri. Few hundred angstroms of Pt were vacuum-deposited onto holey carbon films mounted on TEM grids. Sn films with an average thickness of 200Å were created by evaporation at rates of 15-30 Å/sec onto air-cleaved KBr substrates. The Sn films were wet-stripped and collected on the holey Pt grids. Figure 1 shows a cross-section schematic of a Pt-Sn couple. While this two-film arrangement did not allow observations of the actual reaction interface, microtomy was used to produce cross-sections.

Cryomicroscopy of crotoxin complex crystals at 400 KV

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 826-827
Author(s):  
Jaap Brink ◽  
Wah Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
3D Structure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Depth Of Field ◽  
Basic Subunit ◽  
Ewald Sphere ◽  
Diffraction Patterns ◽  
Complex Crystals ◽  
Acidic Subunit

The crotoxin complex is a potent neurotoxin composed of a basic subunit (Mr = 12,000) and an acidic subunit (M = 10,000). The basic subunit possesses phospholipase activity whereas the acidic subunit shows no enzymatic activity at all. The complex's toxocity is expressed both pre- and post-synaptically. The crotoxin complex forms thin crystals suitable for electron crystallography. The crystals diffract up to 0.16 nm in the microscope, whereas images show reflections out to 0.39 nm2. Ultimate goal in this study is to obtain a three-dimensional (3D-) structure map of the protein around 0.3 nm resolution. Use of 100 keV electrons in this is limited; the unit cell's height c of 25.6 nm causes problems associated with multiple scattering, radiation damage, limited depth of field and a more pronounced Ewald sphere curvature. In general, they lead to projections of the unit cell, which at the desired resolution, cannot be interpreted following the weak-phase approximation. Circumventing this problem is possible through the use of 400 keV electrons. Although the overall contrast is lowered due to a smaller scattering cross-section, the signal-to-noise ratio of especially higher order reflections will improve due to a smaller contribution of inelastic scattering. We report here our preliminary results demonstrating the feasability of the data collection procedure at 400 kV.Crystals of crotoxin complex were prepared on carbon-covered holey-carbon films, quench frozen in liquid ethane, inserted into a Gatan 626 holder, transferred into a JEOL 4000EX electron microscope equipped with a pair of anticontaminators operating at −184°C and examined under low-dose conditions. Selected area electron diffraction patterns (EDP's) and images of the crystals were recorded at 400 kV and −167°C with dose levels of 5 and 9.5 electrons/Å, respectively.

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