(Invited) Analytical Super-Resolution Microscopy Approaches for the Morphological Characterization of Carbon Nanotube Heterogeneity

Abstract

The ability to determine the shape, size and orientation of fluorescent single-walled carbon nanotubes is critical for a plethora of applications. Yet the heterogeneity of the nanotube samples is often overlooked due to the lack of investigation approaches which may impact the obtained results. Although techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) could be used to this extent, they require heavy instrumentation and analysis, and do not necessarily allow the temporal and in situ characterization of the samples. On the other hand, super resolution microscopy (SRM) approaches can be used to determine the structure of fluorescent nano-objects with high precision while retaining the possibility to perform in situ studies. In particular, analytical SRM approaches are particularly interesting as they rely only on post-processing and do not require any specific optical component.In this context, we study the performances of three analytical SRM approaches for the determination of SWCNT shape, size and orientation. Using correlative microscopy between optical and AFM approaches this study provides an in-depth comparison of the performances of analytical SRM approaches for the morphological characterization of individual SWCNTs.B.P. Lambert et al., in preparation