title: Evaluation of Electrospray as a Sample Preparation Tool for Electron Microscopic Investigations: Toward Quantitative Evaluation of Nanoparticles.
abstract: The potential of electrospray deposition, for the controlled preparation of particles for imaging in electron microscopes, is evaluated on various materials: from mono-modal suspensions of spherical particles to multimodal suspensions and to real-world industrial materials. It is shown that agglomeration is reduced substantially on the sample carrier, compared with conventional sample preparation techniques. For the first time, it is possible to assess the number concentration of a tri-modal polystyrene suspension by electron microscopy, due to the high deposition efficiency of the electrospray. We discovered that some suspension stabilizing surfactants form artifact particles during electrospraying. These can be avoided by optimizing the sprayed suspension.
authors.affiliation: 1Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM),12205 Berlin,Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mielke
authors.affiliation: 2RAMEM Ltd.,28027 Madrid,Spain.
authors.forename: Pavla
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dohányosová
authors.affiliation: 3Material Physics Research,BASF SE,67056 Ludwigshafen,Germany.
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: 2RAMEM Ltd.,28027 Madrid,Spain.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: López-Vidal
authors.affiliation: 1Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM),12205 Berlin,Germany.
authors.forename: Vasile-Dan
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Hodoroaba
keywords: SEM; TEM grid; electrospray; nanoparticles; sample preparation