Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
Liquid and colloidal microstructures can be imaged at high resolution with cryo-TEM and cryo-SEM by fast-freezing with a Controlled Environment Vitrification System. Frozen bare-films can be directly imaged by TEM, while films sandwiched between metal plates can be frozen, fractured, and directly imaged with cryo-SEM or indirectly imaged by TEM after replication. We describe sample preparation techniques and report cryo-SEM studies of particle distributions and fracture patterns in such specimens.