On the 16th July, we booked to use the Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) to characterise the gold nanoparticles we had been synthesising since week 1. Transmission Electron Microscopy is a microscopy technique which allows us to measure small objects (to the order of a few angstrom 10-10 m) by focussing a thin beam of electrons onto a sample. The beam of electrons travel through the sample and depending on the density of the sample present, some of the electrons are scattered. The unscattered electrons hit a fluorescent screen at the bottom of the microscope and give rise to a image of the sample.
Figure 1 shows the TEM image of the gold nano particles we obtained by reducing chloroauric acid using sodium citrate.
Our next TEM is scheduled for the 22nd July, so we shall keep you updated with our AuNPs progression.