[en] This work presents results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of 0.4 μm membranes after plasma treatment with different parameters. The morphology changes at the surfaces and at the pore walls were observed. The character of changes in the membrane parameters according to the process conditions was determined

[en] The heavy ion beam (with fluence 3x10⁸ ion/cm²) from a cyclotron has been used for irradiation of thin polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) films. Latent tracks in these polymeric films have been sensitized by UV radiation and then chemically etched in NaOH solution. The etching process parameters have been controlled by the electroconductivity method. After etching, parameters of samples have been examined by SEM and bubble point methods (Coulter[reg] Porometer II instrument). Results have shown good quality of PEN track membranes with pore sizes in the range: 0.1 - 0.5 μm. The described procedure is known for thin polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films. Taking into consideration that PEN films have got better mechanical, thermal, gas barrier as well as better chemical resistance properties in comparison with PET films, the possibility of application of such membranes is much wider

[en] A new method for the preparation of porous polymer samples and investigations of their structure by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is described. The technique for cleavage preparation is complemented by a preliminary treatment of a polymer with photo oxidation degradation to render it brittle. The advantages of this technique have been demonstrated with polyethylene tere-phthalate (PET) track membranes. The true size and shape of pores in the bulk sample can be seen in the cleavage plane. The degradation procedure does not change the membrane morphology. At the same time it allows one to reveal the characteristic features of the porous structure without its modification. Clear pictures of cross-sections of track membranes with cylindrical and bow-tie-like pore channels are presented

[en] Track etched membranes (TEMs) obtained by irradiation of polymer films with heavy ions and subsequent etching of latent tracks can be applied in many fields and among others in biomedicine as well. It is important to know radiation resistance of TEMs because of wide use of radiation sterilization in the case of biomedical devices. Tensile properties of TEMs made of PET and PC films with the thickness of 10 μm after electron irradiation at different doses are known from literature. Nowadays TEMs are being manufactured from thicker (20 μm) PET and PC films as well as polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) films are proposed for TEMs. It seems to be important to get data about radiation resistance of new kinds of TEMs. Samples of polymer films made of PET and PEN with the thickness of 19-25 μm and TEMs made of such materials have been irradiated using 10 MeV electron beam with doses up to 990 kGy. Tensile properties and SEM photographs of the samples after irradiation are given in the paper

No abstract available

[en] There is a range of elements with a radioactive long-life isotope. That isotope is often the component of a naturally existing element. Autoradiography is one of the methods allowing us to detect natural radioactivity of elements. Using autoradiography, we can carry out non-destructive and non-sampling investigations of the historical glassware. The main purpose of such work was to determine the potassium content in the tested glassware as well as to determine the chemical homogeneity of the object. The natural radioactivity of the isotope ⁴⁰K has been used here. The broken stem of an 18th century goblet, made of colourless, high quality glass has been analysed. Our experiment consisted of two parts: examination of model glasses with calibration of the method and examination of broken stem. Obtained results showed us large inhomogeneity of the old glass. Differences in K₂O concentration were in the range of 13-20%. It means that chemical inhomogeneity of historic glasses cannot be omitted during investigations that require sampling

No abstract available

[en] Fuel cells are becoming now the new energy sources for vehicles. One of the most important fuel cells type is Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFC) composed generally from Ni anode, NiO cathode and operates in the presence of liquid Li/K carbonate. LiCoO₂ thin (∼ 1 μm) films on NiO are prepared to protect cathode against dissolution. SEM observations allowed us to investigate quality of these films. (author)

[en] The main goal of this work was to investigate usability of PTM for determination of microimpurities distribution in different types of water samples. Scanning electron microscopy allowed us to observe that kind of membranes before and after filtration processes and to investigate filtered out impurities

No abstract available