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Three-dimensional imaging of dislocation propagation during crystal growth and dissolution

Nature Materials volume 14, pages 780–784 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Atomic-level defects such as dislocations play key roles in determining the macroscopic properties of crystalline materials1,2. Their effects range from increased chemical reactivity3,4 to enhanced mechanical properties5,6. Dislocations have been widely studied using traditional techniques such as X-ray diffraction and optical imaging. Recent advances have enabled atomic force microscopy to study single dislocations7 in two dimensions, while transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can now visualize strain fields in three dimensions with near-atomic resolution8,9,10. However, these techniques cannot offer three-dimensional imaging of the formation or movement of dislocations during dynamic processes. Here, we describe how Bragg coherent diffraction imaging (BCDI; refs 11, 12) can be used to visualize in three dimensions, the entire network of dislocations present within an individual calcite crystal during repeated growth and dissolution cycles. These investigations demonstrate the potential of BCDI for studying the mechanisms underlying the response of crystalline materials to external stimuli.

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Figure 1: Growth and dissolution of calcite observed by BCDI.
Figure 2: Slices showing the electron density and projected displacement during growth and dissolution.
Figure 3: Displacement and strain magnitude line plots.
Figure 4: Simulation of a screw dislocation.
Figure 5: Iso-surface rendering of defect network within a calcite crystal.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by FP7 advanced grant from the European Research Council (J.N.C. and I.K.R.) and an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Leadership Fellowship (F.C.M. and J.I.). It was also funded through an EPSRC Programme Grant (A.S.S. and F.C.M., EP/I001514/1) which funds the Materials in Biology (MIB) consortium, and EPSRC grants EP/J018589/1 (Y-Y.K.) and EP/K006304/1 (A.N.K.). We thank Diamond Light Source for access to Beamline I-16 (MT 8187, MT 7654 and MT 7277) that contributed to the results presented here.

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Author notes

  1. Jesse N. Clark

    Present address: Present addresses: Stanford PULSE Institute, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA; Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL), Deutsches Elektronensynchrotron (DESY), Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany.,

  2. Jesse N. Clark and Johannes Ihli: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK

    Jesse N. Clark & Ian K. Robinson

  2. School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK

    Johannes Ihli, Anna S. Schenk, Yi-Yeoun Kim, Alexander N. Kulak & Fiona C. Meldrum

  3. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK

    James M. Campbell

  4. Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0DE, UK

    Gareth Nisbet

  5. Research Complex at Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK

    Ian K. Robinson

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Contributions

J.N.C. and J.I. designed the project; J.I. prepared samples; J.N.C., J.I., J.M.C., A.S.S., Y-Y.K., J.M.C., G.N. and I.K.R. performed the experiments; J.N.C. performed image reconstructions; J.N.C. and I.K.R. analysed the data, J.N.C., J.I., F.C.M. and I.K.R. wrote the paper. All the authors read and commented on the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jesse N. Clark or Fiona C. Meldrum.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Clark, J., Ihli, J., Schenk, A. et al. Three-dimensional imaging of dislocation propagation during crystal growth and dissolution. Nature Mater 14, 780–784 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4320

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