Dear all,
I have prepared graphene oxide (GO) using modified Hummer's method. Now, when I am characterizing the synthesized GO using MERLIN SEM, the image shows flakes of GO along with cracks on the sheet. These cracks are very prominent when taking images beyond 1 micrometer scale.
So I am not able to take the image in nano-meter scale (200 nm or so). Could anyone please suggest me the reason of getting such cracks on the GO sheet.
Is it due to the improper gold coating done before sample loading????
Earlier, I synthesized GO following the same method and got proper FESEM image. But this time, I am facing lot of problem.
The FESEM image that I got for the GO has been attached herewith for your kind consideration.
I look forward to get your valuable suggestion soon.
Thanking you.
With regards,
Bibhas Manna
Dear Dr. Manna, Apparently you could not get also a clear image. You are right, it may be due to improper gold coating. I recommend to repeat it.
Dear Bibhas Manna,
The graphene sheet looks a little bit wrinkled and crumbled but not cracked (the sheet has some defects) due to the used preparation method.
The cracked surface is due to your bad coating. For the 50k mag the Au coating should still be OK-ish, so I would guess there was a problem during (magnetron?) sputtering: either too thick, the current was to high, or any other reason. You can try modifying your coating parameters, or even different metal coating (like Pd/Au, Pt, or even Cr). But I would suggest to research the possibility of not using the conductive coating. With some careful sample preparation, the graphene should be conductive enough to avoid charging, or am I mistaken?
You would also benefit of taking the images of the un-altered sample :-)
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