Application of Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy to the Rubber Industry

tEZ oeII Materials of commercial significance in the rubber industry are usually multi-component systems composed of several elastomers and various fillers. Elucidating the complex morphology that can arise from blending and understanding how this affects the various properties are essential. A technique advantageous to the study of multi-component elastomeric systems is Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy (STXM). STXM utilizes the chemical sensitivity of Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) and combines with relatively high spatial resolution and low beam damage to allow the successful characterization of multi-component materials that may be difficult or impossible with other techniques. An overview of the technique and example applications for the rubber industry is presented