ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPIC IMAGING OF THE MORPHOLOGY OF INSITU POLYETHYLENE SHISH-KEBABS

The simultaneous imaging of the crystalline and rigid amorphous areas of semi-crystalline polyethylene is made possible by electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) in an energy-filtering transmission electron microscope (EFTEM). Conventional bright- and dark-field imaging modes mainly provide information about the non-crystalline areas which react chemically with classical staining agents such as ruthenium tetroxide. The ability of ESI to image structures which are inaccessible to the staining agent is shown in TEM micrographs of nascent polyethylene 'shish kebabs' embedded in a Lowicryl HM20 matrix.