Abstract
Poly(p-xylylene) (PPX) single crystals have been studied recently with high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) by two groups. The resolution achieved to date is 0.26 nm for the α-form and 0.25 nm for the β-form. Polymer crystals are generally very sensitive to electron irradiation since the molecular chains become crosslinked or are decomposed (chain scission) in a short time upon electron irradiation. Individual chain stems in a polymer crystal can be resolved in micrographs if the electron beam is introduced into die crystal along the chain axis. Obtaining structural images from different crystal orientations is very useful in three dimensional reconstruction. Most HREM studies on polymer crystals have focused on taking images along the polymer chain direction. The present work demonstrates that monomer images can be obtained from other directions, and a 0.18 nm resolution is achieved for α-form PPX crystals at room temperature.
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