Transmission Electron Microscopy as a Tool for the Characterization of Soft Materials: Application and Interpretation.

ABSTRACT: Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provides direct structural information on nano-structured materials and is popular as a characterization tool in soft matter and supramolecular chemistry. However, technical aspects of sample preparation are overlooked and erroneous image interpretations are regularly encountered in the literature. There are three most commonly used TEM methods as we derived from literature: drying, staining and cryo-TEM, which are explained here with respect to their application, limitations and interpretation. Since soft matter chemistry relies on a lot of indirect evidence, the role of TEM for the correct evaluation of the nature of an assembly is very large. Mistakes in application and interpretation can therefore have enormous impact on the quality of present and

SUBMITTER: Franken LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5441488 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature