Issue 1, 2016

Polyvinylidene fluoride molecules in nanofibers, imaged at atomic scale by aberration corrected electron microscopy

Abstract

Atomic scale features of polyvinylidene fluoride molecules (PVDF) were observed with aberration corrected transmission electron microscopy. Thin, self-supporting PVDF nanofibers were used to create images that show conformations and relative locations of atoms in segments of polymer molecules, particularly segments near the surface of the nanofiber. Rows of CF2 atomic groups, at 0.25 nm intervals, which marked the paths of segments of the PVDF molecules, were seen. The fact that an electron microscope image of a segment of a PVDF molecule depended upon the particular azimuthal direction, along which the segment was viewed, enabled observation of twist around the molecular axis. The 0.2 nm side-by-side distance between the two fluorine atoms attached to the same carbon atom was clearly resolved. Morphological and chemical changes produced by energetic electrons, ranging from no change to fiber scission, over many orders of magnitude of electrons per unit area, promise quantitative new insights into radiation chemistry. Relative movements of segments of molecules were observed. Promising synergism between high resolution electron microscopy and molecular dynamic modeling was demonstrated. This paper is at the threshold of growing usefulness of electron microscopy to the science and engineering of polymer and other molecules.

Graphical abstract: Polyvinylidene fluoride molecules in nanofibers, imaged at atomic scale by aberration corrected electron microscopy

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
12 Mar 2015
Accepted
20 Aug 2015
First published
15 Sep 2015

Nanoscale, 2016,8, 120-128

Author version available

Polyvinylidene fluoride molecules in nanofibers, imaged at atomic scale by aberration corrected electron microscopy

D. Lolla, J. Gorse, C. Kisielowski, J. Miao, P. L. Taylor, G. G. Chase and D. H. Reneker, Nanoscale, 2016, 8, 120 DOI: 10.1039/C5NR01619C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements