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Investigating materials formation with liquid-phase and cryogenic TEM

Nature Reviews Materials volume 1, Article number: 16035 (2016) Cite this article

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Abstract

The recent advent of liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and advances in cryogenic TEM are transforming our understanding of the physical and chemical mechanisms underlying the formation of materials in synthetic, biological and geochemical systems. These techniques have been applied to study the dynamic processes of nucleation, self-assembly, crystal growth and coarsening for metallic and semiconductor nanoparticles, (bio)minerals, electrochemical systems, macromolecular complexes, and organic and inorganic self-assembling systems. New instrumentation and methodologies that are currently on the horizon promise new opportunities for advancing the science of materials synthesis.

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Figure 1: Different LP-TEM cell designs that isolate the sample from the vacuum.
Figure 2: Examples of LP-TEM used to investigate the dynamics of materials formation processes.
Figure 3: Cryo-TEM captures snapshots of materials evolution through rapid freezing of the sample.
Figure 4: Cryo-TEM can be used to investigate materials formation in various specimens.
Figure 5: Cryo-TEM time series showing nucleation and growth.
Figure 6: LP-TEM investigations of nucleation, transformation and faceting.
Figure 7: Growth of crystals via nanoparticle interaction and assembly.
Figure 8: Organization of soft matter.
Figure 9: Nucleation and growth in biomimetic environments.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a VICI grant of the Dutch Science Foundation, NWO, The Netherlands, and the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science and Engineering at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL is operated by Battelle for the US Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, 99352, Washington, USA

    J. J. De Yoreo

  2. Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195, Washington, USA

    J. J. De Yoreo

  3. Laboratory of Materials and Interface Chemistry and Center of Multiscale Electron Microscopy, Eindhoven University of Technology,

    Sommerdijk N. A. J. M.

  4. Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands

    Sommerdijk N. A. J. M.

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De Yoreo, J., N. A. J. M., S. Investigating materials formation with liquid-phase and cryogenic TEM. Nat Rev Mater 1, 16035 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2016.35

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