Electron Microscopy Investigation of Magnetite Nanoparticles Immersed in a Polymer Template

Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate chemically cycled magnetite-based composites using mesoporous sulfonated styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer as template. The micron-sized morphology of the template was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, while transmission electron microscopy provided useful information concerning the nanoparticle size polydispersity profile and location of the magnetite nanoparticles inside the template. The narrowing of the nanoparticle size distribution and the linear dependence of the magnetite mass incorporation versus number of chemical cycles are supported by the transmission electron microscopy data.