Transmission electron microscope studies on carbon nanostructured materials

Purpose: Carbon nanostructured materials are important and still not satisfactorily recognised products. Structure can be investigated with sufficient resolution using transmission electron microscopy but main difficulties are connected with low scattering of electrons by carbon atoms and destruction by knock-on damage caused by collisions of high energy electrons with specimen atoms. Design/methodology/approach: Scanning/transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM) deliver a chance to improve the quality of performed investigations. BF, DF and HAADF detectors were applied for various carbon materials: carbon nanotubes, nano-onions, nanodiamonds and graphitized carbon black. Findings: Obtained results confirmed the usefulness of applied microscopy techniques. Research limitations/implications: Sample preparation is crucial for performed investigations. Because of ionization damage caused by collisions of high energy electrons, results obtained with high-voltage TEM have to be analysed with caution, hence low-voltage electron microscopy is strongly recommended. Originality/value: New and not commonly used techniques were applied for carbon nanostructured materials studies. Advantages and disadvantages of them were compared.