Methods for TEM analysis of NIST's single-walled carbon nanotube Standard Reference Material

摘要

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will soon release a series of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) reference materials (RMs) to provide users with a well-characterized material for their applications. The SWCNT reference material will be introduced as a series of three types of material: (1) raw soot characterized for composition, which will be certified as a Standard Reference Material, (2) purified (greater than 90 % SWCNT by weight) bucky paper and (3) dispersed, length-sorted populations characterized by length. The instrumental characterization of NIST's SWCNT reference materials is extensive, and this paper aims to provide researchers with dispersion preparation methods for TEM (transmission electron microscopy) analysis of the SWCNT raw soot. A selection of dispersing solvents, including organic solvents, aqueous surfactants and DNA dispersions, were prepared and examined by TEM. Recommendations for sample preparation of the SWCNT SRM 2483 to yield images similar to those presented here are given. Examples of images of the length-sorted SWCNT reference material are also shown. These results illustrate the importance of optimal dispersion to enable imaging of SWCNT characteristics.