Transmission electron microscopy articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors characterize the phonon modes at the FeSe/SrTiO3 interface with atomically resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy and correlate them with accurate atomic structure in an electron microscope. They find several phonon modes highly localized at the interface, one of which engages in strong interactions with the electrons in FeSe.

    • Ruochen Shi
    • , Qize Li
    •  & Peng Gao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Application of correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) in plants remains challenging. Here, the authors use Click-iT chemistry as a tool for CLEM, due to its unique properties in resin permeability and super-resolution microscopy. They use this approach to study cellular physiology in Arabidopsis.

    • Michal Franek
    • , Lenka Koptašíková
    •  & Jíří Fajkus

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High and medium-entropy alloys have shown excellent mechanical performance, yet the role of short-range order (SRO) on these properties has been unclear. Here, the authors demonstrate that the reduction of SRO by deformation leads to rejuvenation, explaining their remarkable damage tolerance.

    • Yang Yang
    • , Sheng Yin
    •  & Andrew M. Minor

  • Article
    | Open Access

    By combining real and diffraction space data recorded in electron microscopes, ptychography retrieves specimen details with super-resolution. Here, the inverse problem is solved in the presence of thermal diffuse scattering and applied to measure ferroelectric displacements with picometer precision.

    • Benedikt Diederichs
    • , Ziria Herdegen
    •  & Knut Müller-Caspary

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The correlation between charged and antiphase states in BiFeO3 remain elusive. Here, the authors report a fabrication of in-plane charged antiphase boundaries in BiFeO3 thin films, revealing the atomic bonding configurations and atomically sharp 180° polarization reversal of such boundaries.

    • Xiangbin Cai
    • , Chao Chen
    •  & Deyang Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Grain boundary atomic structures of crystalline materials have long been believed to be commensurate with the crystal periodicity of the adjacent crystals. Here, the authors discover an incommensurate grain boundary structure based on direct observations and theoretical calculations.

    • Takehito Seki
    • , Toshihiro Futazuka
    •  & Naoya Shibata

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Transmission electron microscopy is essential for three-dimensional atomic structure determination, but solving complex heterogeneous structures containing light elements remains challenging. Here, authors solve a complex nanostructure using atomic resolution ptychographic electron tomography.

    • Philipp M. Pelz
    • , Sinéad M. Griffin
    •  & Colin Ophus

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The visible evidence bridging atomic defects with catalytic properties has been scarcely explored. Using differential phase contrast technology, this work discloses the existence of a polarized electric field surrounding the antisite defects of a monolayer MoS2 material and its correlation to its electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution property.

    • Jie Xu
    • , Xiong-Xiong Xue
    •  & Jun Lu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here authors explore volume diffusion within crystalline solids at the atomic scale. They use high resolution microscopy techniques to provide insights into the movement of individual atoms within a crystal lattice, revealing the intricate dynamics of volume diffusion processes.

    • Peter Schweizer
    • , Amit Sharma
    •  & Xavier Maeder

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Phase transition dynamics are an important concern in the wide applications of metal halide perovskites. Here authors apply low-dose imaging technique to reveal the phase transition dynamics of CsPbI3 during in-situ heating process with atomic resolution.

    • Mengmeng Ma
    • , Xuliang Zhang
    •  & Boyuan Shen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electron holography and microscopy have long been used to map static electric and magnetic fields. Here, authors establish Lorentz Microscopy of Optical Fields, a new technique that uses the deflection and interference of an electron beam to obtain phase-resolved images of nanoscale optical fields.

    • John H. Gaida
    • , Hugo Lourenço-Martins
    •  & Claus Ropers

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Radiolysis is known for damaging crystals. Here, using STEM, researchers observed radiolysis-driven bond-breakage, atomic movements, & crystal restructuring in rutile TiO2, and proposed a “2-step rolling” model of building blocks. These results open possibilities for constructive use of radiolysis.

    • Silu Guo
    • , Hwanhui Yun
    •  & K. Andre Mkhoyan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanical and thermal properties of semicrystalline polymers are governed by the hierarchical structure comprising lamellar crystals, but the tilt angles of the molecular chains in the lamellae and their origin remains controversial. Here, the authors report a direct determination of molecular chain orientation in the lamellar crystals of high-density polyethylene using electron-diffraction based imaging with nanometre-scale positional resolution.

    • Shusuke Kanomi
    • , Hironori Marubayashi
    •  & Hiroshi Jinnai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electron detectors used in electron microscope are often unable to provide quantified information without calibration. Here, by combining existing detectors with hardware signal processing, the authors demonstrated that the detectors can be run in an electron counting mode enabling imaging at faster speeds, at lower electron doses, and reduces the barrier to quantitative measurements.

    • Jonathan J. P. Peters
    • , Tiarnan Mullarkey
    •  & Lewys Jones

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here authors use iDPC-STEM to directly image the rotation of linkers in MOFs, demonstrating an approach to study the local flexibility. They show that the dynamic properties of UiO-66-X are likely correlated to their macroscopic properties of CO2 uptake.

    • Boyang Liu
    • , Xiao Chen
    •  & Tiefeng Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors probe the phonon changes across an atomically sharp h-10BN/h-11BN isotope interface with sub-unit-cell spatial resolution and momentum resolution. The observed phonon delocalization suggests strong electron-phonon coupling at isotopic interface.

    • Ning Li
    • , Ruochen Shi
    •  & Peng Gao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polar skyrmions are particle-like objects consisted of swirling electric dipoles that hold promise for next generation nanodevices. Here, the authors explore the strain-induced transition from skyrmions to merons using electron imaging methods.

    • Yu-Tsun Shao
    • , Sujit Das
    •  & David A. Muller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Weak interlayer van der Waals (vdW) bonding has significant impact on the structure and properties of vdW layered materials. Here authors use in-situ aberration-corrected ADF-STEM for an atomistic insight into the cation diffusion in the vdW gaps and the etching of vdW surfaces at high temperatures.

    • Wenjun Cui
    • , Weixiao Lin
    •  & Xiahan Sang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Non-random chemical mixings that are intrinsic to medium- and high-entropy alloys are difficult to detect and quantify. Here the authors perform a diffraction data-mining analysis, revealing nanoclusters of short-range orders in a CrCoNi alloy, and their impacts on chemical homogeneity and dislocations slip.

    • Haw-Wen Hsiao
    • , Rui Feng
    •  & Jian-Min Zuo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The effect of aliovalent doping on grain boundary is not yet fully understood at the atomic level. Here, the authors report grain boundary structural transformation in α-Al2O3 is induced by co-segregation of multiple dopants using atomic-resolution electron microscopy and theoretical calculations.

    • Toshihiro Futazuka
    • , Ryo Ishikawa
    •  & Yuichi Ikuhara

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Obtaining information about the structure of metal-organic layers (MOLs) using standard electron microscopy methods is challenging due to damage under electron beam irradiation. Here, the authors reveal a multistep formation process of MOLs and identify missing clusters, dislocations, loop and flat surface terminations and ligand connector of MOLs via complementary electron microscopy techniques.

    • Xinxing Peng
    • , Philipp M. Pelz
    •  & Mary C. Scott

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High-throughput electron tomography has been challenging due to time-consuming alignment and reconstruction. Here, the authors demonstrate real-time tomography with dynamic 3D tomographic visualization integrated in tomviz, an open-source 3D data analysis tool.

    • Jonathan Schwartz
    • , Chris Harris
    •  & Robert Hovden

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Planar growth of nanowire arrays involves interactions between materials that affect the electronic behavior of the effective heterojunction. Here, authors show how core curvature and cross-section morphology affect shell growth, demonstrating how strain at the core-shell interface induces electronic band modulations in ZnSe@ZnTe nanowires.

    • Sara Martí-Sánchez
    • , Marc Botifoll
    •  & Jordi Arbiol

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electron beam manipulation is important for their application in microscopes, lithography instruments, and colliders. Here the authors report a wafer scale, self-assembled, microcoil electrically-driven magnetic charge particle optic device that can be implemented into different configurations for controlling of electron beams.

    • R. Huber
    • , F. Kern
    •  & A. Lubk

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Precise control of charge transfer between catalyst nanoparticles and supports presents a unique opportunity to enhance catalytic performance. Here the authors demonstrate a scanning transmission electron microscopy method to visualize atomic-scale structure and sub-nanometer-scale charge distribution in heterogeneous catalysts, shedding light on the atomic-scale mechanisms behind their highly active perimeter sites.

    • Michael J. Zachman
    • , Victor Fung
    •  & Miaofang Chi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The acid sites are important local structures to determine catalytic performances of zeolites. Here, the authors expand the interface engineering to the field of porous zeolites through the lattice mismatch of the intergrown zeolite to enrich the inherent Lewis acid sites at the interface of a mortise-tenon ZSM-5 catalyst.

    • Huiqiu Wang
    • , Boyuan Shen
    •  & Weizhong Qian

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Studying organic molecular nanocrystals with electron microscopy has been challenging due to complex structures and radiation sensitivity. Here, the authors present 4D-scanning confocal electron diffraction, and demonstrate direct in situ observation of structural evolution of bulk heterojunction thin films.

    • Mingjian Wu
    • , Christina Harreiß
    •  & Erdmann Spiecker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gasdermin-A3 pore formation propagates along diverse pathways. It begins with membrane attachment and oligomeric pre-assembly. Once inserted in the membrane, the oligomers re-assemble into various shapes and sizes, which open their lytic pores.

    • Stefania A. Mari
    • , Kristyna Pluhackova
    •  & Daniel J. Müller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Mre11-Rad50 (MR) complex has key functions in the detection, signaling and repair of DNA breaks. Here the authors use transmission electron microscopy to show MR oligomerization is governed by a small beta-sheet protruding from the head domain of Rad50 at the base of the MR structure, and reveal MR head domain oligomerization is required for efficient DNA end resection.

    • Vera M. Kissling
    • , Giordano Reginato
    •  & Matthias Peter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Grain boundary can change its structure upon deformation. Here, the authors show that during this process, grain boundary mobility can be tuned dynamically via a self-stimulated twinning process.

    • Qishan Huang
    • , Qi Zhu
    •  & Jiangwei Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Thermoresponsive polymers are used in numerous technological applications but well established, direct techniques for elucidating their elevated temperature, solution-phase, nanoscale morphologies and dynamics are lacking. Here, the authors examine thermoresponsive polymeric materials by liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy and gain insight into their thermal-responsive behaviour.

    • Joanna Korpanty
    • , Lucas R. Parent
    •  & Nathan C. Gianneschi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors introduce an analytical approach for quantitative analysis of 3D atom dynamics during electron microscopy. They image a Co-Mo-S nanocrystal with 1.5 Å resolution, and observe chemical transformations caused by beam-stimulated vibrations.

    • Fu-Rong Chen
    • , Dirk Van Dyck
    •  & Stig Helveg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Honeycomb layered oxides are an emerging class of materials with peculiar physicochemical properties. Here, the authors report the synthesis and electrochemical energy storage characterisations of a mixed-alkali honeycomb layered oxide material capable of storing Na and K ions simultaneously.

    • Titus Masese
    • , Yoshinobu Miyazaki
    •  & Tomohiro Saito

  • Article
    | Open Access

    3D real-space analysis of thick nanoparticle crystals is non-trivial. Here, the authors demonstrate the structural analysis of a bulk-like Laves phase by imaging an off-stoichiometric binary mixture of hard-sphere-like nanoparticles in spherical confinement by electron tomography, enabling defect analysis on the single-particle level.

    • Da Wang
    • , Ernest B. van der Wee
    •  & Alfons van Blaaderen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Space charges or injected charges dominate the ferroelectric degradation, however, its physics insight remains unclear. Here, the authors reveal the nature of ferroelectric degradation in nanodevices and the role of the injected charges in polarization reversal.

    • Qianwei Huang
    • , Zibin Chen
    •  & Xiaozhou Liao

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