Interfacial area scanning electron microscopy

L. H. Lee (Xerox Corporation We are really fortunate to have Dr. Buchanan here giving us a latest account about recent developments in scanning electron microscopy. SEM has been one of the useful tools for us to examine adhesive interfaces. New techniques described in this paper should enable us to observe the interfacial area with greater precision. 

Natural fillers used in this study are not water soluble (two of them contain significant amounts of cellulose in their chemical composition) and randomly disperse within the starch plasticized matrix, and appears as a discontinuous phase after composite films drying (as evidenced by the scanning electron microscopy SEM investigation presented below). Therefore, these natural fillers provide more interfacial area within the composite films stmcture. As a result, light diffusion is enhanced, thus generating a reduced transparency property for the composite films. Overall, plasticized starch-based composite films exhibit some relative transparency mainly at low amount values for natural fillers in composite formulations. 

The structure of the final cream is rather complex and it can be investigated using various techniques polarizing optical microscopy, freeze-fracture electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), low-angle X-ray and NMR. Figure 13.29 gives a schematic picture of the structure of the cream (a) and (b) fl-lustrate an example of a cavity in the continuous gel phase whereas part (c) shows the interfacial area between dispersed phase and continuous phase on a molecular scale. 

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