Flame-Exposed Aluminium Foil as a Low-Cost, Customizable TEM Grid for Nanomaterial Imaging
Abstract
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) grids are essential for high-resolution imaging of nanomaterials but are often expensive and offer limited customization. Here, we present a simple, cost-effective method to fabricate porous aluminum foil-based TEM grids by briefly exposing a commercial aluminum foil to a gas burner flame for 23 seconds. This process produces semitransparent films with circular windows (a few dozen micrometers wide), each spanned by a double-layer alumina membrane. Window formation is likely due to dewetting of the molten aluminum, which is sandwiched between native Al2O3 surface layers. Additional hole formation during cooling may result from inhomogeneous crystallization, which drives liquid metal ow between the oxide layers. The alumina membranes can be easily removed via ultrasonication in a water bath, leaving open windows that serve as effective supports for nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes or block copolymer self-assemblies. This approach provides a rapid, low-cost alternative to commercial TEM grids, with potential for widespread adoption in research, industrial and educational settings.
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BibTeX
@misc{luchnikov2026flameexposed,
title = {{Flame-Exposed Aluminium Foil as a Low-Cost, Customizable TEM Grid for Nanomaterial Imaging}},
author = {Valeriy Luchnikov and Loïc Vidal},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05739310v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Flame-Exposed Aluminium Foil as a Low-Cost, Customizable TEM Grid for Nanomaterial Imaging
AU - Valeriy Luchnikov
AU - Loïc Vidal
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/30
PB - HAL
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05739310v1
AB - Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) grids are essential for high-resolution imaging of nanomaterials but are often expensive and offer limited customization. Here, we present a simple, cost-effective method to fabricate porous aluminum foil-based TEM grids by briefly exposing a commercial aluminum foil to a gas burner flame for 23 seconds. This process produces semitransparent films with circular windows (a few dozen micrometers wide), each spanned by a double-layer alumina membrane. Window formation is likely due to dewetting of the molten aluminum, which is sandwiched between native Al2O3 surface layers. Additional hole formation during cooling may result from inhomogeneous crystallization, which drives liquid metal ow between the oxide layers. The alumina membranes can be easily removed via ultrasonication in a water bath, leaving open windows that serve as effective supports for nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes or block copolymer self-assemblies. This approach provides a rapid, low-cost alternative to commercial TEM grids, with potential for widespread adoption in research, industrial and educational settings.
ER -