| AVS 55th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Energy Science and Technology Focus Topic | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session EN+AS+TF+VT+NC-WeA |
| Session: | Energy: Tools and Approaches |
| Presenter: | D.J. Stokes, FEI Company, The Netherlands |
| Authors: | D.J. Stokes, FEI Company, The Netherlands B. Freitag, FEI Company, The Netherlands D.H.W. Hubert, FEI Company, The Netherlands |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Advanced electron microscopy, using the latest aberration-corrected and monochromated (scanning) transmission electron microscopes (S/TEM) is helping to bring new scientific and technological insights that are advancing progress in areas such as health, energy and the environment. Specifically, with global energy resources under increasing pressure, great efforts are being made to develop new nanomaterials that will lead to renewable energy sources and increased efficiency, to sustain energy supplies into the long term future whilst helping to preserve and protect the Earth’s environment. To get there, we are being taken to atomic realms such that, to tailor new nanomaterials for specific functions, it is essential to precisely understand, accurately control and truly visualize structure-property relations at an unprecedented level. The atomic structure of nanomaterials and the energy needed for their function can be optimized by the fundamental understanding of catalytic behavior of nanoparticles and by a better understanding of the physical properties on the atomic level of systems such as solar cells, fuel cells and light sources (LEDs). This requires advanced tools that allow us to see down to the individual atoms and sense their chemical environment. It means having the ability to perform experiments in situ, to follow specific chemical reactions and physical processes, and there is a need to be able to do this in multi-dimensions, both spatial and temporal. We discuss and demonstrate the role of advanced electron microscopy in answering some of the most challenging and fundamental scientific questions in the field of catalysis, ranging from electron tomographic 3D reconstruction of the crystal facets of catalyst nanoparticles and aberration-corrected imaging correlated with density functional theory for elucidating precise atomic positions, to in situ studies of catalytic reactions for visualization of otherwise unseen intermediate nanostructures. These examples relate the nanostructures investigated to the property manifested by that particular structure, enabling us to gain new information about catalytic function.