Transfer of a single particle for combined ESEM and TEM analyses
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EMPA used Kleindiek manipulators in an ESEM to carry a single airborne particle from one sample holder to a TEM grid, so one dust grain could be analysed several ways.
To study individual environmental particles across instruments, the authors transfer micrometre-sized airborne particles between sample holders using glass needles on Kleindiek manipulators inside an ESEM. Applied to aerosol sampled in downtown Zurich, a specific particle first classified by ESEM morphology and chemistry was relocated onto a TEM grid for structural analysis — a correlative, single-particle workflow. Kleindiek provided technical support for the manipulators.
