Should I dissolve the film in the respective solvent and check the dispersion or is there any other method to check the dispersion? Kindly suggest the proper way for TEM analysis.
Hi,
one critical requirement for TEM investigations is that the sample has to be electron transparent. Typically, electron transparancy is given for samples with thicknesses not larger than ~100 nm (the exact value depends on the acceleration voltage of your instrument). This means that your films are to thick for TEM investigations.
However, one possibility would be to prepare a so-called TEM lamella. A TEM lamella is a thin sheet of your film which is typically prepared by cutting with a focussed ion beam (FIB) inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The lamella is thinned until it becomes electron transparent and then applied to a TEM speciem holder. After transferring it to the TEM, the film morphology can be investigated.
You can find some impressive examples of the TEM lamella preparation on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tem+lamella
Film of 20-30 micron is a pretty thick film, too thick for TEM. You may prepare cross-section (“sandwich” or/and embedded) and observe it with SEM. Standard polishing methods should work for your thick film.
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