Quantification of Surface Erosion and Microscopic Analysis of Particle Distribution in Polymer Nanocomposites

In this paper the authors present two procedures for the analysis of polymer nanocomposites. The first one uses a two dimensional surface profile to quantify the volume of eroded material and the erosion depth caused by surface discharges. The second one introduces the focused ion beam (FIB) as a new way of microscopic analysis of the particle distribution in polymer nanocomposites. FIB samples can be prepared and analyzed without prior mechanical treatment regardless to their mechanical properties, which is a great improvement for the investigation of brittle or inhomogeneous materials. Both procedures are applicable for various polymers and are shown for epoxy resin containing Al2O3 micro- and nanofiller as examples.