I am trying to synthesize silicon-carbon composite with silicon particle encapsulated by SiO followed by graphene over it. What characterization technique should I use to determine their thickness? I used TEM but it can only give some idea about thickness of graphene, not SiO or Si.
Dear Akash Soni,
You may try to perform XRD analysis and use Debye-Scherre formula to determine the crystallite size of the SiO and Si domain, if it is crystallized of course. However, this method has some limitations especially if you have a wide range of particule size. It only give a rough estimation of the size, which generally higher than the size given by TEM analysis.
Regards,
Emile HAYE
Thank you Emile Haye. I will look into your suggestion.
Regards
Akash Soni
Dear Akash,
You may use the thin film thickness meter, which is based on evaluating the reflection of different wavelength light incident on the specimen. According to the specs of the measuring instrument it can measure the thickness of multi layer films.
For more information about the instrument please follow the link: www.filmetrics.com
Best wishes
Hi Akash, TEM & high resolution TEM would be the normal thing to use for this. Its very commonly used to image the oxide coating on metalic and silicon nanoparticles, and a carbon build up is often actually seen too.You may need some playing with the voltage etc. to get the penetration and contrast optimized. You could also consider STEM techniques, and perhaps EDX on the microscopes can guide you as to the chemical composition.
You didn't specify the size of your particle but how about making a sacrificial sample and then using FIB (Focused ion beam) to cut into the encapsulated particle to reveal the different layers as a depth profile. You can then use SEM/EDX to determine the identity of the layers and their individual thicknesses.
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