Method for regeneration osmium (Ⅷ) oxide from a spent solution of osmium oxide used for sample preparation for electron microscopy

Abstract

An osmium (Ⅷ) oxide solution that had been used for sample preparation for electron microscopy was processed by ozonation and then treated with a 0.1 mol/L solution of sodium hydroxide. An apparatus was assembled such that a systemic series of mechanical and chemical operations was performed to regenerate osmium (Ⅷ) oxide. By optimizing the operating parameters of the apparatus, a solution with osmium (Ⅷ) oxide content of 2.0%(w/v) or higher was produced. The generated osmium (Ⅷ) oxide was found to be reusable for sample preparation for electron microscopy.