Microstructural Characterization of Low-Density Foams.

摘要

Low-density foams (of the order 0.1 g/cm sup 3 ) synthesized from silica aerogel, resorcinol/formaldehyde, and cellulose acetate have fine, delicate microstructures that are extremely difficult to characterize. Improved low-voltage resolution of an SEM equipped with a field-emission gun (FESEM) does permit these materials to be examined directly without coating and at sufficient magnification to reveal the microstructures. Light coatings applied by ion-beam deposition can stabilize the specimens to some extent and reduce electron charging without seriously altering the microstructure, but coatings applied by conventional techniques usually obliterate these microstructures. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is required to provide unambiguous microstructural interpretations. However, TEM examinations of these materials can be severely restricted by specimen preparation difficulties and electron-beam damage, and considerable care must be taken to ensure that reasonably accurate TEM results have been obtained. This work demonstrates that low-voltage FESEM analyses can be used to characterize microstructures in these foams, but TEM analyses are required to confirm the FESEM analyses and perform quantitative measurements. 19 refs., 11 figs. (ERA citation 14:001098)