TEM characterization of carbon based materials in nano- and pico-scales

Summary form only given. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) undergoes the revolutionary improvement recent years. The introduction of Cs-corrector on TEM column has greatly increased TEM imaging resolution. A resolution of sub Angstrom is realistic. At the same time, the atomic scale spatial resolution for analysis becomes also possible. These, combined with much improved analytical energy resolution, have made TEM a powerful and useful tool for material characterization. As for carbon characterization, another important fact, the needs of relatively low accelerating voltage to limit the specimen damage under electron bombardment, has also benefited from Cs-corrector. Without a Cs-corrector, the imaging resolution will suffer severely when voltage is reduced. The various TEM techniques applied to carbon nanotubes, graphene, polymers etc. are reviewed and discussed.