Tomography of Electrospun Carbon Nanotube Polymeric Blends by Focus Ion Beam: Alignment and Phase Separation Analysis from Multicontrast Electron Imaging
Abstract
Multimodal focused ion beam (FIB) imaging on a polydimethylsiloxane/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) electrospun composite has been applied to discriminate the phase‐separated polymer blend and identify MWCNT fillers. Upon tomographic reconstruction, this discrimination has been possible through both atomic number and voltage contrast, the latter being enabled by preferential MWCNT segregation to PMMA. This study suggests that electrospinning could be affecting not only MWCNT alignment but also phase separation dynamics of immiscible polymers, yielding a porous structure throughout the fibers. This work opens the door to correlative materials science in polymer nanocomposites through FIB tomography, where voltage contrast is a main actor. image
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 20, 2017
- Source ID
- 10.1002/mame.201600479
Entities
People
- Allen D. Winter
- Benjamin Berson
- Douglas Yates
- Eugene Terentjev
- Eva M. Campo
- Jorge J. Santiago‐aviles
- Mohan Ananth
- Wudmir Rojas
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Bangor University
- European Regional Development Fund
- National Center for Research Resources
- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
- University of Cambridge
- University of Pennsylvania