Fei quanta 650f

The phase analysis was carried out at ambient temperature by using micro-area X-ray diffraction (XRD) (Rigaku Smartlab 9 KW, Hypix3000 detector, Cu Kα radiations). The XRD patterns were collected in the 2θ range of 10° to 100° with an incident spot of 0.1 mm. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (FEI Quanta 650F, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Hillsboro, OR, USA), equipped with electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), was used to characterize the microstructure. EBSD analysis was carried out with a scan step of 0.5 μm. The grain size distribution and misorientation between grains were obtained in EBSD data.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the morphology of complete vitamin A and D microcapsules, and microcapsules freeze-fractured using liquid nitrogen and a cold hammer. The entirety of a 1 g sample was mapped for each vitamin, and then a representative selection of SEM images were taken using an FEI Quanta 650F (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) under high-vaccum and 3 kV. A Malvern Mastersizer 3000 (Malvern Panalytical, UK) was used to assess the particle size distribution of microcapsules. Five samples of both vitamin A and D microcapsules were analyzed. The Mastersizer 3000 generated fitted size distribution curves for each microcapsule type, alongside mean particle size, and residual standard deviation.