2.3. Imaging and optical characterisation
Diatomised fibres were washed thrice with de-ionised water to
remove any salts and initially viewed under a light microscope in
a wet state (images captured using Optilab software). Following
this, the fibres were dried and observed under a scanning electron
microscope (SEM, Jeol JSM-6335-F). Diatomised fibres were coated
for 22 s with platinum.