Quanta 450 feg environmental scanning electron microscope

A drop from the dispersed GA-PEI-DE/GA-PEI particles in Milli-Q water was placed on a conducting carbon sticker over an SEM stub by using a glass Pasteur pipette. The particles were air dried followed by coating of a gold layer through a sputtering technique to avoid charging in the electron microscope. The SEM images were obtained using a Carl Zeiss Microscopy Merlin SEM with a GEMINI II Column. The SEM was operated at 2 kV in a high-resolution column mode (probe current: 100 pÅ) and the working distance was optimized to 2.5 mm. The secondary electron images were recorded by Everhart–Thornley secondary electron detector. The composition was examined using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy attached to the SEM. Also, the hydration and joint swelling of the GA-PEI resin was observed under ESEM (FEI Quanta 450 FEG Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope).

The crystal structures of the BiOX samples were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) using a MiniFlex 600 X-ray diffractometer (Rigaku Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). X-rays were generated from a Cu anode at a working voltage and current of 40 kV and 15 mA, respectively. XRD patterns were recorded at a step size of 0.02°. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) experiments were performed on a FEI Quanta 450 FEG Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope. All samples were directly loaded on conductive carbon adhesive tabs (Ted Pella, Inc.). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were conducted on a FEI Tecnai G2 F20 Transmission Electron Microscope. The TEM specimens were prepared by dipping carbon/formvar-film coated Cu grids (Pacific Grid Tech) into homogeneous BiOX–ethanol suspensions, followed by drying at 60 °C.