Designing Better Batteries Through Innovative Microscopy Characterization
Lithium-ion batteries were commercially introduced in 1991, presenting new analytical challenges in the quest to improve the quality, safety, and lifespan of this fastest-growing battery chemistry. The basic structure of Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) contains as many as 10 different thin films that are synthesized to form at least that many solid−solid interfaces. These interfaces consist of thin layers of cathode material, insulating barriers, anode materials, metal current collectors, and the electrolyte. These various components are in the form of powders, sheets, and fluids and require an assessment before and after assembly and after repeated charge/discharge operations.
TEM vs. SEM Imaging: What's the Difference?
The key difference between SEM imaging and TEM is that SEM produces an image by detecting secondary or backscattered electrons, whereas TEM uses transmitted electrons to form an image.
Why is the Sand Purple at Plum Island Beach?
Typical New England beach sand differs in color from light and dark grey to medium tan based on its common mineralogy, but at Plum Island Beach there are swatches of purple sand that appear haphazardly as one walks along the shore.
Some Thoughts on Why You Want to Use Low kV Imaging
What makes the difference between a good SEM image and a stellar one? Imaging samples at the appropriate conditions, and that often means at very low accelerating voltage (low kV). It's time to give it a try!
COVID-19 Virus Using correlative FESEM and Fluorescence Microscopy
Professor Simon Watkins' lab at University of Pittsburgh, in collaboration with JEOL USA, has been developing novel ways to analyze biological structures in 3D, utilizing correlative FESEM and fluorescence microscopy. The paper “Correlative Fluorescence and Electron Microscopy in 3D – Scanning Electron Microscope Perspective” (Current Protocols in Cytrometry) describes how the ability to correlate fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy data obtained on biological specimens bridges the resolution gap between the data obtained by these different imaging techniques.
Paper or Fabric?
During this unprecedented time when masks are being worn to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, we thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at masks. These were imaged on our IT500HR Scanning Electron Microscope at different magnifications.
Middle School Students Evaluate How to Build Structures from Martian Soil
That’s the problem that 8th (now 9th) grade students at Concord-Carlisle Middle School, in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and JEOL USA, set out to solve when they responded to a NASA challenge for the development of innovative technologies to support human colonization of Mars by 2050.
Guest Blog: Seeing Is Believing – How Benchtop SEMs Are Changing the Imaging Landscape
Traditional SEM instruments have provided us with unprecedented details of every surface you can think of, from whole insects to crystals and bacteria, but can be complex to use, requiring specialist knowledge, and also require a large dedicated space. The dawn and advancement of compact and user-friendly benchtop SEMs however is changing this picture.