Cryo-Portfolio
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena
The Servicio de Instrumentación Tecnológica (SAIT) at the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena maintains a central multi-disciplinary EM facility that serves the whole of the university. In November 2000 the Hitachi S-3500N SEM at this facility was fitted with the Polaron PP2000 cryo-SEM. Some of the work completed since this installation is illustrated here.
Library of Cryo-SEM Application Images
L. Alberto Alcolea Rubio with using Hitachi S-3500N SEM with Polaron
PP2000 cryo-SEM system.
Hitachi S-3500N SEM with Polaron PP2000 cryo-SEM system
Developmental genetics.-'Primordios de boca de dragón'
This image was recorded by Julia Weiss (Área de Genética) and Alberto Alcolea (Servicio de Apoyo a la Investigación Tecnológica) of the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena. The instrument used was the Hitachi S-3500N SEM at the University in Spain. This mocroscope is fitted with a Polaron PP2000 cryo-SEM system.
The shoot apical meristem is a structure that produces the different organs of a plant. Floral meristems are formed when the floral program is activated in the plant, and they are characterized by arrangement of floral organ primordia. This picture shows two different developmental stages of floral meristems from Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon). One of them shows an early stage when sepal primordia are already visible but the inner whorls are not visible yet. A second stage, slightly later, shows both sepal and petal primordia arising inside the floral meristem in concentric whorls.
Structural characterization of polymer-liquid crystal dispersions
This feature is based on a paper due to be published in Polymer International. The work was completed on the Hitachi S-3500N SEM at Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Spain. This mocroscope is fited with a Polaron PP2000 cryo-SEM system.
Authors:
M.D. Bermúdez, F.J. Carrión-Vilches and J.J. Cervantes
Grupo de Ciencia de Materiales e Ingeniería Metalúrgica.
Departamento de Ingeniería de Materiales y Fabricación.
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (Spain).
Abstract
Liquid crystalline antiwear fillers have been used to additivate thermoplastics such as polystyrene (PS), styreneacrylonitrile (SAN) and polyamide 6 (PA). A 1 wt% proportion of thermotropic liquid crystal (LC) 4, 4’-dibutylazobenzene was added to the polymers in powder and the mixtures were milled. In the case of PS, 10 wt% LC mixtures were also obtained. PS/LC and SAN/LC blends were compression molded and PA/LC blends were injection molded from the melt to obtain the additivated materials. Cross sections and fracture surfaces were obtained and studied under the optical and electron microscope. Liquid crystal distribution within the polymer matrix depends on the base polymer, the additive proportion and the processing route.
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Figure 1. SEM micrographs of fracture surfaces of: a) polystyrene additivated with a 1 wt % of liquid crystal; b) polystyrene with a 10 wt % of liquid crystal, showing a higher density of dispersed phase within the polymer matrix.
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Figure 2. a) Magnification of 1a showing distribution of the liquid crystal within the polystyrene matrix. b) Magnification of 2b.
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Figure 3. SEM micrographs of the fracture surface of: a) PA; b) PA/LC.
The instrument featured in this article is operated by:
Isidro Ibarra and L. Alberto Alcolea Rubio
Servicio de Instrumentación Tecnológica (SAIT)
Servicio de Apoyo a la Investigación Tecnológica
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena
Spain
http://www.upct.es/~sait/
The instrument is supplied and maintained by
Mr Alfonso Seisdedos
Monocomp Instrumentacion s.a.
C/ Virgen de la Fuencisla
28027 Madrid
Spain
Tel: 0034 91 326 74 97
Fax: 0034 91 326 76 08
monocomp@sew.es
Links to some of our end user's sites
Donald Brem School of Environmental Science and Management - Micro-Environmental Imaging and Analysis Facilityweb site: http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/facilities/MEIAF/technology.html
email: saleta@bren.ucsb.edu
Beltsville Agricultural Research Centre
web site: http://emu.arsusda.gov/snowsite/contacts/contacts.html
email: erbee@ba.ars.usda.gov
University of Birmingham Centre for Electron Microscopy
web site: http://www.cem.bham.ac.uk/fegesem.htm
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