Soft X-ray microscopy to characterize polyelectrolyte assemblies.
Transmission microscopy with soft X-rays (TXM) is applied to image in-situ polyelectrolyte assemblies in aqueous environment. The method is element specific and at this stage exhibits a lateral resolution of 20 nm. With the specific examples of hollow capsules and full spheres made of PAH/PSS polyelectrolyte multilayers, it is shown quantitatively that heat treatment irreversibly reduces the water content in the membrane. These experiments complement those reported recently on the polyion system PDADMAC/PSS, which shows a different glass-transition behavior. Finally, the potential and present limitations of TXM are discussed.
Köhler
Karen
K
Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany. karen.koehler@mpikg.mpg.de
Déjugnat
Christophe
C
Dubois
Monique
M
Zemb
Thomas
T
Sukhorukov
Gleb B
GB
Guttmann
Peter
P
Möhwald
Helmuth
H