The need for a color electron microscopy

A black & white SEM/TEM micrograph is not simply the output of a scientific equipment but, similarly to any other type of photography, it is a form of art. Color is one of the fundamental elements of all artistic images and therefore it should be artificially put also in electron microscopy. As an example, in the above picture the TEM micrograph background has been dyed of yellow for better evidencing the outline of the nanostructure (i.e., a small bundle of graphite nanoscrolls). To add color to an electronic micrograph allows to associate one further information to the image. For example, to allow distinguishing an organic nanostructure from the inorganic one, a conventional coloration could be established for the micrograph background. All colors could have a different meaning to be transferred SEM/TEM micrographs by artificially coloring the image background.