This paper provides a brief summary of the history, development and variety of applications of electron microscopy
techniques to analyze coals, organic-rich shales, and carbonaceous materials. General construction and principles of
operation of transmitted (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) are outlined, along with guidance on
specimen preparation, and a brief overview of published TEM and SEM applications related to coal, shales, and
carbonaceous materials. This work was accepted as the chapter 18.2 of International Committee for Coal and Organic
Petrology Methods Handbook at the ICCP Plenary Session on September 27, 2018 in Brisbane (Australia).