I took scanning electron microscope images of my samples in powder form and after coating their films. In powder form, a large number of particles can be seen however, in the films only a few randomly located particles are located. Though the morphology remains the same but a reduction in the number of particles is observed. What could be the reason for this? Where did the other particles go?
This is normal if you don't use the compressed air to blow off the loose particles attached on your samples. The loose particles will contaminate your coater or even SEM. It is highly recommended to use the compressed air to the clean the prepared sample before your coating. Hope it helps.
Obviously the population density of the particles will be decreased in the film. Because you have used some filler or cross-linker to join the particles to make the film. Most probably you have seen some particles in the SEM image that are just exist on the surface of the film. Inversely, if you use very dilute dispersion of the particle to coat a film by using a spin coater with very high speed the particle density may also decrease. You may choose suitable dispersion medium, particle concentration to tune the spinning time and speed to get a better sample for SEM analysis.
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