Abstract
The accurate characterization of very finely divided particles is often best accomplished by means of electron microscopy and, where feasible, electron diffraction. The purpose of this chapter is to describe or comment on some of the methods that I have found useful for the isolation, identification, and characterization of mineral particles of biogenic origin using techniques designed for the transmission electron microscope (TEM). These techniques are useful for determining the size, shape, and mineralogy of both crystalline and amorphous materials. The methods employed are generally applicable with minor modifications to both magnetic and nonmagnetic phases. As most textbooks on electron microscopy well illustrate, the variations on this theme are many. What follows are approaches that have been used successfully in a variety of instances by the author. The experienced transmission electron microscopist may wish to ignore much of what follows and will even occasionally remark, “I know a better way”; this chapter is not written for them. The content is not intended to be complete and rigorous. It is intended more as a gathering of ideas, hints, and suggestions that may prove useful to researchers, who are unfamiliar with TEM and electron diffraction, in general, or as it is applied to mineral samples specifically.
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Towe, K.M. (1985). Studying Mineral Particulates of Biogenic Origin by Transmission Electron Microscopy and Electron Diffraction. In: Kirschvink, J.L., Jones, D.S., MacFadden, B.J. (eds) Magnetite Biomineralization and Magnetoreception in Organisms. Topics in Geobiology, vol 5. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0313-8_6
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