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An overview with the basics of size and shape measurement of particles and 2D structures according to established methodologies (and popular imaging processing software packages) with imaging techniques is given. Main descriptors are explained based on case studies with ongoing interlaboratory comparisons under the pre-standardisation platform of VAMAS.
Suspensions of graphene-related 2D materials (GR2M) are broadly used for further applications like printable electronics. The reliable quantification of the composition of graphene-related 2D materials as liquid suspensions is still a challenging task, which can hinder the commercialisation of the products. Specific parameters to be measured are defined, e.g. the oxygen-to-carbon (O/C) concentration ratio, the trace metal impurities, or the functional groups present, but reference protocols are still missing. One of the central methods for the quantification is X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as a rather expensive method. Therefore, the development of cheaper alternatives is highly desired. One attractive alternative of XPS is energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) which is usually coupled with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This combination is one of the most widely used methods in analytical laboratories. In this contribution the results of a systematic study on the capability of SEM/EDS to reliably quantify the O/C ratio in a well-defined and well-characterized graphene oxide material are presented. The robustness of the SEM/EDS results obtained at various measurement conditions (various excitation energies) is tested by comparing the results to the established XPS analysis, which has been carried out on the same samples.
It is demonstrated that for samples prepared by drop-casting on a substrate, both surface-sensitive XPS analysis and bulk-characterising EDS result in very similar elemental composition of oxygen and carbon for thick spots. Further, the effect of untight deposited material enabling co-analysis of the (silicon) substrate, is evaluated for both methods, XPS and EDS. The last results clearly show the influence of the substrate on the analysis of the results and stressed out the importance of the sample preparation.
Reliable quantification of the chemical composition of graphene‐related 2D materials (GR2M) as powders and liquid suspensions is a challenging task. Analytical methods such as X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) are recommended by standardization bodies. The specific parameters to be measured are also defined, e.g., the oxygen‐to‐carbon (O/C) atomic ratio, the trace metal impurities, or the functional groups. In this contribution, for the first time, results of a systematic study on the capability of energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS) at a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to reliably quantify the O/C ratio and impurities remained from the synthesis of selected GR2M are reported. The robustness of SEM/EDS analysis is verified for various measurement conditions (different excitations and EDS detectors) and the validity of the results is tested by comparison to the established XPS analysis. Moreover, an ionic liquid is used as a reference material for the quantification of the light elements such as C, N, O and F. The study clearly demonstrates the reliability of the fast and widely available SEM/EDS as a standard method for the quantification of the elemental composition of GR2M and generally of light materials.
Proper physicochemical characterization of advanced materials and complex industrial composites remains a significant challenge, particularly for nanomaterials, whose nanoscale dimensions and mostly complex chemistry challenge the analysis. In this work, we employed a correlative analytical approach that integrates atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and Raman spectroscopy. This combination enables detailed chemical and structural characterization with sub‐micrometer spatial resolution. Three commercial graphene‐based materials of varying complexity were selected and investigated to test the analytical performance of this approach. Furthermore, one of the commercial graphene oxide samples was chemically functionalized via amination and fluorination. This allowed us to assess how surface modifications influence both the material properties and the limits of the applied analytical techniques.
In article number e02344, Ievgen S. Donskyi, Vasile-Dan Hodoroaba, and co-workers present a straightforward correlative imaging approach for locating graphene flakes and impurities on the nanoscale within an ink as a highly complex matrix. A systematic comparison of different surface imaging methods demonstrates that the combination of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provides the most effective strategy for visualizing and identifying these features, helping to shed light in the dark.
In this paper graphene related 2D materials (GR2M) arre investigated by centrifugal field flow fractioning (CF3) and SEM. Three materials were selected as case studies (CS): graphene „HD-G (CS I), graphene oxide UniTo“ (CS II), and graphene oxide „Graphenea“ (CS III). For CS I particles were evaluated as constituent particles in agglomerates, for the other two materials only isolated (non aggregated/agglomerated) flakes were considered for determination of the area equivalent circular diameter (ECD).
Size analysis of all three materials was carried out by CF3 coupled with MALS (Multi-Angle Light Scattering). For evaluation, it was found that the data obtained was best suited to a disc model. Results are in good agreement when compared to the sizes obtained before CF3 analysis. CS II material is too heterogenous to accurately determine flake size by imaging. CF3 coupled with MALS enables to assess fractions within the highly heterogenous material of CS II.
Imaging of the material in CS III after CF3 measurement indicates that the procedure is non-destructive. This could not be verified for the CS‘s I & II
As a next step we plan to analyse the fractionated samples by imaging them within a SEM wet-cell.
