| AVS 63rd International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Surface Science | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session SS+AS-WeM |
| Session: | Environmental Interfaces, Ambient Surfaces, and In-Operando Studies |
| Presenter: | Eli Sutter, University of Nebraska - Lincoln |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
In-situ microscopy, particularly real-time imaging of dynamic processes has developed into an active field of research and is expected to be one of the key enabling techniques for understanding the formation of nanostructures, catalytic reactions, phase transformations, self-assembly, and other central issues in nanoscience and technology. In-situ transmission electron microscopy can be used to follow the behavior and measure the properties of nanostructures over a wide range of environmental conditions with resolution down to the atomic scale. While processes at variable temperatures and gas-solid interactions have been accessible for some time, observations in liquids have emerged only in recent years with the development of special membrane cells. Liquid-cell electron microscopy has developed into a powerful technique that allows the imaging of various processes in wet environments, such as liquids, solutions, or colloidal suspensions, and the investigation not only of a wide range of inorganic nanoscale objects but of biological systems as well.
I will illustrate the power of liquid-cell electron microscopy applied to imaging colloidal synthesis (nanoparticles, core-shell structure), electrochemistry (galvanic replacement reactions) and the self-assembly of nanocrystal superstructures in solution. Our results demonstrate that real-time electron microscopy can substantially advance our understanding of a wide range of processes involving nanoscale objects in bulk liquids.