Accessing lithium−oxygen battery discharge products in their native environments via transmission electron microscopy grid electrode

High-fidelity and facile ex situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization of lithium−oxygen (Li−O₂) batteries is still limited by challenges in preserving the native environment of Li−O₂ discharge products. The extreme reactivity and moisture sensitivity of the discharge products means that they are...

Intercalating Electron Dyes for TEM Visualization of DNA at the Single-Molecule Level

Staining compounds containing heavy elements (electron dyes) can facilitate the visualization of DNA and related biomolecules by using TEM. However, research into the synthesis and utilization of alternative electron dyes has been limited. Here, we report the synthesis of a novel DNA intercalator molecule, bis-acridine uranyl (BAU). NMR...

Distortion of DNA Origami on Graphene Imaged with Advanced TEM Techniques

While graphene may appear to be the ultimate support membrane for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging of DNA nanostructures, very little is known if it poses an advantage over conventional carbon supports in terms of resolution and contrast. Microscopic investigations are carried out on DNA origami nanoplates that are supported...

Structural tale of two novel (Cr,Mn)C carbides in steel

Chromium (Cr), Manganese (Mn), and Carbon (C) are well known alloying elements used in technologically important alloy steels and advanced high strength steels. It is known that binary CrCx and MnCx carbides can be formed in steels, but in this study we reveal for the first time that Cr and Mn were found combined in novel ternary cementite type ...

Atomic Resolution Monitoring of Cation Exchange in CdSe-PbSe Heteronanocrystals during Epitaxial Solid?Solid?Vapor Growth

Here, we show a novel solid?solid?vapor (SSV) growth mechanism whereby epitaxial growth of heterogeneous semiconductor nanowires takes place by evaporation-induced cation exchange. During heating of PbSe-CdSe nanodumbbells inside a transmission electron microscope (TEM), we observed that PbSe nanocrystals grew epitaxially at the expense of CdSe...

Controlled Environment Specimen Transfer

Specimen transfer under controlled environment conditions, such as temperature, pressure, and gas composition, is necessary to conduct successive complementary in situ characterization of materials sensitive to ambient conditions. The in situ transfer concept is introduced by linking an environmental transmission electron microscope to an in...

In situ TEM and STEM studies of reversible electromigration in thin palladium–platinum bridges

We investigated the reversible electromigration in Pd–Pt nanobridges by means of in situ electron microscopy. Real-time nanometer-scale imaging with scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to determine the material transport. For high current densities (3–5 × 107 A cm?2), material transport occurs from the cathode towards the anode...

In Situ transmission electron microscopy imaging of electromigration in platinum nanowires

In situ transmission electron microscopy was performed on the electromigration in platinum (Pt) nanowires (14 nm thick, 200 nm wide, and 300 nm long) with and without feedback control. Using the feedback control mode, symmetric electrodes are obtained and the gap usually forms at the center of the Pt nanowire. Without feedback control,...

Non-conducting interfaces of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 produced in sputter deposition: The role of stoichiometry

We have investigated the properties of interfaces between LaAlO3 films grown on SrTiO3 substrates singly terminated by TiO2. We used RF sputtering in a high-pressure oxygen atmosphere. The films are smooth, with flat surfaces. Transmission electron microscopy shows sharp and continuous interfaces with some slight intermixing. The elemental ratio...

Novel ultrafine Fe(C) precipitates strengthen transformation-induced-plasticity steel

A transmission electron microscopy study was conducted on nanoprecipitates formed in Ti microalloyed transformation-inducedplasticity-assisted steels, revealing the presence of Ti(N), Ti2CS and a novel type of ultra-fine Fe(C) precipitate. The matrix/precipitate orientation relationships, sizes and shapes were investigated in detail. The...

Micro-fabricated channel with ultra-thin yet ultra-strong windows enables electron microscopy under 4-bar pressure

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of (de-)hydrogenation reactions is crucial to characterize efficiency of hydrogen storage materials. The nanoreactor, a micromachined channel with 15-nm-thick windows, effectively confines the gas flow to an electron-transparent chamber during TEM of reactions. Realistic experiments require very high...

Characterization of NbC and (Nb, Ti)N nanoprecipitates in TRIP assisted multiphase steels

Multiphase steels utilising composite strengthening may be further strengthened via grain refinement or precipitation by the addition of microalloying elements. In this study a Nb microalloyed steel comprising martensite, bainite and retained austenite has been studied. By means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we have investigated the...

In situ imaging of electromigration-induced nanogap formation by transmission electron microscopy

The authors imaged electromigration-induced nanogap formation in situ by transmission electron microscopy. Real-time video recordings show that edge voids form near the cathode side. The polycrystalline gold wires narrow down until a single-grain boundary intersects the constriction along which the breaking continues. During the last 50?ms of...

Enhancing the charge ordering temperature in thin films of Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 by strain

We report the effects of biaxial strain on the charge ordering temperature Tco of the mixed-valent manganite perovskite oxide Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3. Thin films were grown on SrTiO3, which has a 1.3% larger in-plane lattice parameter. Other substrates were used for comparison. Transport measurements combined with data from electron microscopy show that...

Electron-beam-induced deformations of SiO2 nanostructures

The imaging beam of a transmission electron microscope can be used to fine tune critical dimensions in silicon oxide nanostructures. This technique is particularly useful for the fabrication of nanopores with single-nanometer precision, down to 2 nm. We report a detailed study on the effect of electron-beam irradiation on apertures with various...

Electrical properties, texture, and microstructure of vicinal YBa2Cu3O7?? thin films

Vicinal YBa2Cu3O7?? (YBCO) thin films of thickness h = 20–480?nm are grown by pulsed-laser deposition on 10° miscut (001) SrTiO3 substrates. The anisotropic resistivities, c-axis texture, and critical temperature drastically depend on the thickness of vicinal films. High-resolution electron microscopy reveals a defect microstructure with strong...