Materials sciences comprises many different branches and covers a wide range of materials such as polymers, filters, metals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, coatings, ceramics, life science applications, electronics, etc.

LUXOR Au and LUXOR Pt metal coaters are widely used for all of these applications, particularly for electron microscopy (SEM and FEG-SEM) purposes where sample loading can be an issue and when working with beam-sensitive materials.

The list of materials science applications ranges from particle characterization, micromechanical analysis of composites, morphology visualization of plastics, root cause analysis of different materials, etc.

Today's materials science laboratories have become a central hub for product development, customer problem solving, and high-level quality control applications. Despite a wide diversity of incoming materials and their related problems, easy-to-use and reproducible test methods must be readily available and accessible to operators with only limited knowledge of the equipment. In addition, fast and high-performance solutions are crucial to cope with daily work.

This is why the LUXOR Fully Automated Metal Coater is a perfect fit for your lab.

DIATOMEAS METALLIC COATING

Diatoms are an important group of microalgae found in the world's oceans, waterways, and soils. Living diatoms generate about 20 to 50 percent of the oxygen produced on the planet each year, absorb more than 6.7 billion metric tons of silicon each year from the waters in which they live, and make up almost half of the organic material found in the oceans.

Diatoms are used to help determine the origin of the materials that contain them. An important field of use is forensics. A typical application is to differentiate a death by immersion from a post-mortem immersion of a body in water. Because diatom composition is specific to a specific location, a diatom sample can point to a specific site.



Diatoms are also used to monitor past and present environmental conditions, and are commonly used in water quality studies.

Silica deposition by diatoms may also be useful for nanotechnology. With an appropriate selection procedure, diatoms of particular shapes and sizes could be used to mass-produce nanoscale components. For all of these applications, SEM images are used to determine the shape, size, and composition of a diatom sample.

METAL COVERING OF A FACE MASK

Respirators, also commonly known as N95 respirator masks, consist of multiple layers of nonwoven fabric, often made from polypropylene or polyester. The two outer protective layers of fabric, which cover the inside and outside of the mask, are created by spun bonding. They act as a protection against the outside environment, as well as a barrier to anything in the user's exhalations. Between the two spunbond layers there is a prefiltration layer and the filtration layer. The prefiltration layer is usually a needle-punched nonwoven. The last layer is a high-efficiency meltblown nonwoven material, which determines the filtration efficiency.

SEM images are an ideal tool to verify the homogeneity, compactness and average diameter of the fibers in the different facemask layers.



Coating facemasks with a metal coater before imaging and analyzing them with an SEM is crucial to avoid loading, warping, or melting of the sample when scanning with an electron beam.

POLYSTYRENE FOAM METAL LINER

Styrofoam is a registered brand name for closed-cell extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam manufactured as an insulating board used in walls, ceilings, and foundations as a thermal insulation and water barrier.

The name polystyrene foam is also used around the world to refer to another material that is usually white in color and made from expanded (non-extruded) polystyrene foam (EPS). This material is often used in food containers, coffee cups and as a cushioning material in packaging. The trademarked term is used generically, even though it is a different material from the extruded polystyrene used for Styrofoam insulation.

METAL COATING OF BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES

Collagen is the main structural protein found in the various connective tissues of the body. It is mainly found in tissues such as cartilage, bones, tendons, ligaments and skin. Depending on the degree of mineralization, collagen tissues can be rigid (bone) or flexible (tendons) or have a gradient from rigid to flexible (cartilage). Collagen is also abundant in corneas, blood vessels, the intestine, intervertebral discs, the dentin of teeth, and muscle tissue.

METALLIC COVERING OF GLASS FIBERS

Fiberglass is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine glass fibers, typically with diameters from 3 µm to 20 µm.

Glass fibers are used in combination with polymers to obtain a reinforced plastic. Glass-reinforced polymer is a fiber-reinforced plastic or composite material made from a plastic reinforced with fine glass fibers.