Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has long been an essential tool for understanding the structure of materials. Over the past couple of decades, this venerable technique has undergone a number of revolutions, such as the development of aberration correction for atomic level imaging, the realiza...

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Main Authors: Pu, S, Gong, C, Robertson, AW
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: The Royal Society 2020
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author Pu, S
Gong, C
Robertson, AW
author_facet Pu, S
Gong, C
Robertson, AW
author_sort Pu, S
collection OXFORD
description Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has long been an essential tool for understanding the structure of materials. Over the past couple of decades, this venerable technique has undergone a number of revolutions, such as the development of aberration correction for atomic level imaging, the realization of cryogenic TEM for imaging biological specimens, and new instrumentation permitting the observation of dynamic systems in situ. Research in the latter has rapidly accelerated in recent years, based on a silicon-chip architecture that permits a versatile array of experiments to be performed under the high vacuum of the TEM. Of particular interest is using these silicon chips to enclose fluids safely inside the TEM, allowing us to observe liquid dynamics at the nanoscale. In situ imaging of liquid phase reactions under TEM can greatly enhance our understanding of fundamental processes in fields from electrochemistry to cell biology. Here, we review how in situ TEM experiments of liquids can be performed, with a particular focus on microchip-encapsulated liquid cell TEM. We will cover the basics of the technique, and its strengths and weaknesses with respect to related in situ TEM methods for characterizing liquid systems. We will show how this technique has provided unique insights into nanomaterial synthesis and manipulation, battery science and biological cells. A discussion on the main challenges of the technique, and potential means to mitigate and overcome them, will also be presented.
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spelling oxford-uuid:f2925c90-e8bc-48c6-adff-7c4435443c9b2022-03-27T12:04:54ZLiquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applicationsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:f2925c90-e8bc-48c6-adff-7c4435443c9bEnglishSymplectic ElementsThe Royal Society2020Pu, SGong, CRobertson, AWTransmission electron microscopy (TEM) has long been an essential tool for understanding the structure of materials. Over the past couple of decades, this venerable technique has undergone a number of revolutions, such as the development of aberration correction for atomic level imaging, the realization of cryogenic TEM for imaging biological specimens, and new instrumentation permitting the observation of dynamic systems in situ. Research in the latter has rapidly accelerated in recent years, based on a silicon-chip architecture that permits a versatile array of experiments to be performed under the high vacuum of the TEM. Of particular interest is using these silicon chips to enclose fluids safely inside the TEM, allowing us to observe liquid dynamics at the nanoscale. In situ imaging of liquid phase reactions under TEM can greatly enhance our understanding of fundamental processes in fields from electrochemistry to cell biology. Here, we review how in situ TEM experiments of liquids can be performed, with a particular focus on microchip-encapsulated liquid cell TEM. We will cover the basics of the technique, and its strengths and weaknesses with respect to related in situ TEM methods for characterizing liquid systems. We will show how this technique has provided unique insights into nanomaterial synthesis and manipulation, battery science and biological cells. A discussion on the main challenges of the technique, and potential means to mitigate and overcome them, will also be presented.
spellingShingle Pu, S
Gong, C
Robertson, AW
Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications
title Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications
title_full Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications
title_fullStr Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications
title_full_unstemmed Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications
title_short Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications
title_sort liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications
work_keys_str_mv AT pus liquidcelltransmissionelectronmicroscopyanditsapplications
AT gongc liquidcelltransmissionelectronmicroscopyanditsapplications
AT robertsonaw liquidcelltransmissionelectronmicroscopyanditsapplications