Development of Multi-sample Loading Device for TEM Characterization of Hydroxyapatite Nanopowder

• Published in: Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol. 34; no. 3; pp. 788 - 792
• Main Authors: Lee, Jong-Moon, Kim, Jung-Kyun, Jeong, Jong-Man, Kim, Jin-Gyu, Lee, Eunji, Kim, Youn-Joong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 대한화학회 20.03.2013
• Subjects: 화학
• ISSN: 0253-2964; 1229-5949
• DOI: 10.5012/bkcs.2013.34.3.788

A shortcoming of using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for structural analysis via electron diffraction is the relatively large error of the measurements as compared to X-ray diffraction. To reduce these errors, various internal standard methods from earlier studies have been widely used. We developed a new device to facilitate the application of internal standard methods in preparation of TEM grids used for nanopowder analysis. Through the application of a partial mask on the TEM grid, both the internal standards and the research materials can be loaded on the same grid. Through this process, we conducted a TEM analysis that compared synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanopowder to bone apatite from a bovine femur. We determined that the accuracy of the d-spacing measurements of the HAp and bone powders could be improved to better than 1% after statistical treatments of the experimental data. By applying a quarter mask, we loaded four different nanoparticles on a single TEM grid, with one section designated for the internal standard. KCI Citation Count: 2