Plasmon as a tool for in situ evaluation of physical properties for carbon materials

Various carbon materials were studied using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The aim was to relate the information that can be extracted from EELS (plasmon energy values) to physical properties in order to obtain a new, simple and in situ tool that would allow the properties of carbon materials to be deduced routinely from EELS. The principle of the method is expected to be valid for any carbon material whatever the morphology (fibre, film), texture (anisotropic, isotropic), nanotexture, structure (turbostratic, graphitised) and also whatever the way the materials are processed. Provided the EELS spectroscopy is performed using appropriate acquisition parameters, the only limitation revealed so far is about the carbon material type, which has to derive from thermoplastic precursors. Reasons for both relations and limitations are discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.