A practical guide to transmission electron microscopy of aerogels

Aerogel-based materials encompass an outstandingly diverse class of nanoscale single-phase and composite materials, from the traditional base-catalyzed silica aerogel with its branched-beaded network of amorphous mesoparticles to the novel composite aerogels incorporating self-assembled protein superstructures. The structural characterization of these disparate materials often requires more than routine application of basic transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. This paper serves as a guide to the full utilization of TEM for investigating new aerogel architectures.