Polymer Microscopy

Abstract

Optical, transmission, and scanning electron microscopy have played a critical role in characterizing the morphology of high polymers. In many cases successful microscopic analyses have depended on the use of specialized sample preparation and observation techniques. Some of these methods are extensions of the procedures employed for studying metallographic and biological specimens, while others have been developed exclusively for synthetic resins. Unfortunately, a comprehensive survey of this work is not currently available, although an excellent review of rubber microscopy has been published by Kruse [1] and a more limited discussion of multiphase polymers by Thomas [2]. In this article an attempt is made to summarize, as completely as possible, the experimental techniques which are currently available to the polymer microscopist. Since the design, construction, and use of various types of electron and optical microscopes are discussed in great detail in standard texts [3, 4], only a brief treatment of this subject is included. Likewise morphological descriptions are included only to the extent that they relate to the preparation or examination of the samples. To increase the utility of the review to those whose interest is primarily in materials, the manuscript is organized according to the structural features or systems of interest rather than the analytical procedures involved.