In this appendix, only transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) will be discussed here. This technique represents a good choice for a tool for the study of nanomaterials, since it allows direct imaging of the samples. By observation of transversal sections, the linages can be obtained both at the surface and inside the sample. Structural characteristics, such as shape, size and distribution of nanometric precipitates, can in this way be obtained. Furthermore, the advent of high-resolution techniques has allowed us to examine samples down to the atomic scale, and consequently to have a precise idea of their nanostructure. To conclude, electronic microscopy techniques seem to have revolutionized and allowed the nanotechnologies domain to develop by their capacity to show the link between fabrication, structure and properties of nanomaterials, and all that down to the atomic scale.

Inspec keywords: transmission electron microscopy; image resolution; nanostructured materials

Other keywords: nanomaterial; nanostructure; TEM; atomic scale; nanometric distribution; nanotechnology domain; transmission electronic microscopy; imaging

Subjects: Electron microscopy determinations of structures