A liquid metal encapsulation for analyzing porous nanomaterials by atom probe tomography
File(s)mam1198.pdf (1.86 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Kim, Se-Ho
El-Zoka, Ayman A
Gault, Baptiste
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Analyzing porous (nano)materials via atom probe tomography has been notoriously difficult. Voids and pores act as concentrators of the electrostatic pressure, which results in premature specimen failure, and the electrostatic field distribution near voids leads to aberrations that are difficult to predict. In this study, we propose a new encapsulating method for porous samples using a low melting point Bi–In–Sn alloy, known as Field's metal. As a model material, we used porous iron made by direct-hydrogen reduction of single-crystalline wüstite. The complete encapsulation was performed using in situ heating on the stage of a scanning electron microscope. No visible corrosion nor dissolution of the sample occurred. Subsequently, specimens were shaped by focused ion-beam milling under cryogenic conditions at −190°C. The proposed approach is versatile and can be applied to provide good quality atom probe datasets from micro/nanoporous materials.
Date Issued
2022-08-01
Date Acceptance
2021-10-01
Citation
Microscopy and Microanalysis, 2022, 28 (4), pp.1198-1206
ISSN
1083-0375
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Start Page
1198
End Page
1206
Journal / Book Title
Microscopy and Microanalysis
Volume
28
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Microscopy Society of America
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
License URL
Identifier
https://academic.oup.com/mam/article/28/4/1198/6995523
Subjects
atom probe tomography
FABRICATION
fusible alloy
GASEOUS REDUCTION
HEMATITE
IRON-OXIDES
liquid metalaq
Materials Science
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
MECHANISM
Microscopy
NANOPOROUS GOLD
porous iron
Science & Technology
SPECIMEN PREPARATION
Technology
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-08-01