Improved preparation of membrane surfaces for field-emission scanning electron microscopy

The separation characteristics of membranes depends greatly on their morpho logy. Thus, membrane investigation using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a standard method in membrane characterization. Careful specimen prepar ation methods are required to ensure excellent performance of field emissio n scanning microscopes and to minimize artifacts generated by the preparati on process. For polymer samples with structural elements on a sub-micron sc ale, the surface structure can be significantly altered by energy impacts r esulting from the preparation method. A method of conductive coating with r educed energy impact is demonstrated, which largely avoids the generation o f artifacts during the coating process. This procedure generates images of membrane surfaces virtually artifact free. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. A ll rights reserved.