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Novel Method for Controlled Wetting of Materials in the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2013

Anna Jansson ,
Alexandra Nafari ,
Anke Sanz-Velasco ,
Krister Svensson ,
Stefan Gustafsson ,
Anne-Marie Hermansson  and
Eva Olsson
Anna Jansson*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Alexandra Nafari
Affiliation:
Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden NanoFactory Instruments AB, SE-41288 Gothenburg, Sweden
Anke Sanz-Velasco
Affiliation:
Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Krister Svensson
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Karlstad University, SE-65188 Karlstad, Sweden
Stefan Gustafsson
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Anne-Marie Hermansson
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Eva Olsson
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: anna.jansson@chalmers.se
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Abstract

Environmental scanning electron microscopy has been extensively used for studying the wetting properties of different materials. For some types of investigation, however, the traditional ways of conducting in situ dynamic wetting experiments do not offer sufficient control over the wetting process. Here, we present a novel method for controlled wetting of materials in the environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). It offers improved control of the point of interaction between the water and the specimen and renders it more accessible for imaging. It also enables the study of water transport through a material by direct imaging. The method is based on the use of a piezo-driven nanomanipulator to bring a specimen in contact with a water reservoir in the ESEM chamber. The water reservoir is established by local condensation on a Peltier-cooled surface. A fixture was designed to make the experimental setup compatible with the standard Peltier cooling stage of the microscope. The developed technique was successfully applied to individual cellulose fibers, and the absorption and transport of water by individual cellulose fibers were imaged.

Keywords

environmental scanning electron microscopyin situcellulose fibermanipulatorwater transportswelling
Type
Software, Techniques and Equipment Development
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , February 2013 , pp. 30 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2013

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Footnotes

†

Present address: Epsilon AB, SE-41756, Gothenburg, Sweden

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