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Isotopes tracked on a sub-nanometre scale using electron spectroscopy

Measurements of atomic vibrations can now identify chemical isotopes on a sub-nanometre scale in an electron microscope. An innovative approach makes use of this resolution to build and track isotopic domains.
  1. Jordan A. Hachtel

    1. Jordan A. Hachtel is at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.

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The isotopes of an atom have the same number of protons, but different numbers of neutrons. Changing the neutron count changes the mass of an atom, but it doesn’t have a pronounced effect on its chemical properties. As a result, isotopes feature in a host of techniques used in biological and materials sciences, where they function as atomic-scale labels that can track specific compounds in heterogeneous samples and can trace chemical-reaction pathways. To make the most of isotopic labelling, isotopes must be detected with high spatial resolution. Writing in Nature, Senga et al.1 report that, using a specialized electron microscopy technique, they have identified isotopic labels with sub-nanometre spatial resolution, allowing the behaviour of the labelled atoms to be revealed as they move around the crystal.

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Nature 603, 36-37 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00545-1

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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