µCT-Based Topography Analysis of Inaccessible Surfaces Exemplified by a Biofouling-Covered Plastic

Abstract

The measurement of surface topographies is usually restricted to surfaces that are directly accessible to tactile or optical sensing. With this paper, the application of micro-computed tomography to measure characteristics of surfaces that are covered by solid films and thus not directly accessible is demonstrated. The method is first validated by comparative measurements of a plastic sample with µCT and conventional optical profilometry. Afterwards, the µCT-based method is successfully applied to a polyhydroxybutyrate plastic sample covered by biofouling after exposure to marine environment, providing insight into the degradation processes. © 2021 The Authors. Chemie Ingenieur Technik published by Wiley-VCH GmbH