Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2100668 |
| Journal | Advanced materials |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 29 |
| Early online date | 9 Jun 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - 20 Jul 2021 |
Abstract
Liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy is used to study a wide range of chemical processes, where its unique combination of spatial and temporal resolution provides countless insights into nanoscale reaction dynamics. However, achieving sub-nanometer resolution has proved difficult due to limitations in the current liquid cell designs. Here, a novel experimental platform for in situ mixing using a specially developed 2D heterostructure-based liquid cell is presented. The technique facilitates in situ atomic resolution imaging and elemental analysis, with mixing achieved within the immediate viewing area via controllable nanofracture of an atomically thin separation membrane. This novel technique is used to investigate the time evolution of calcium carbonate synthesis, from the earliest stages of nanodroplet precursors to crystalline calcite in a single experiment. The observations provide the first direct visual confirmation of the recently developed liquid-liquid phase separation theory, while the technological advancements open an avenue for many other studies of early stage solution-phase reactions of great interest for both the exploration of fundamental science and developing applications.
Keywords
- calcium carbonate, graphene liquid cells, heterostructure mixing cells, in situ transmission electron microscopy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)
- General Materials Science
- Engineering(all)
- Mechanics of Materials
- Engineering(all)
- Mechanical Engineering
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In: Advanced materials, Vol. 33, No. 29, 2100668, 20.07.2021.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - In Situ TEM Imaging of Solution‐Phase Chemical Reactions Using 2D‐Heterostructure Mixing Cells
AU - Kelly, Daniel J.
AU - Clark, Nick
AU - Zhou, Mingwei
AU - Gebauer, Denis
AU - Gorbachev, Roman V.
AU - Haigh, Sarah J.
N1 - Funding Information: D.J.K. and N.C. contributed equally to this work. The authors acknowledge funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK) EPSRC (Grant Nos. EP/M010619/1, EP/S021531/1, and EP/P009050/1) and the European Commission H2020 ERC Starter grant EvoluTEM (715502). D.J.K. acknowledges funding from EPSRC Graphene NowNano CDT and EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship. This work was supported by the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, funded through EPSRC Grant Nos. EP/R00661X/1, EP/S019367/1, EP/P025021/1, and EP/P025498/1. R.V.G. acknowledges funding from the Royal Society Fellowship scheme. This work was supported by the Rosalind Franklin Institute's Correlated Imaging theme, funded by EPSRC grant(s) EP/S001999/1 and EP/T006889/1.
PY - 2021/7/20
Y1 - 2021/7/20
N2 - Liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy is used to study a wide range of chemical processes, where its unique combination of spatial and temporal resolution provides countless insights into nanoscale reaction dynamics. However, achieving sub-nanometer resolution has proved difficult due to limitations in the current liquid cell designs. Here, a novel experimental platform for in situ mixing using a specially developed 2D heterostructure-based liquid cell is presented. The technique facilitates in situ atomic resolution imaging and elemental analysis, with mixing achieved within the immediate viewing area via controllable nanofracture of an atomically thin separation membrane. This novel technique is used to investigate the time evolution of calcium carbonate synthesis, from the earliest stages of nanodroplet precursors to crystalline calcite in a single experiment. The observations provide the first direct visual confirmation of the recently developed liquid-liquid phase separation theory, while the technological advancements open an avenue for many other studies of early stage solution-phase reactions of great interest for both the exploration of fundamental science and developing applications.
AB - Liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy is used to study a wide range of chemical processes, where its unique combination of spatial and temporal resolution provides countless insights into nanoscale reaction dynamics. However, achieving sub-nanometer resolution has proved difficult due to limitations in the current liquid cell designs. Here, a novel experimental platform for in situ mixing using a specially developed 2D heterostructure-based liquid cell is presented. The technique facilitates in situ atomic resolution imaging and elemental analysis, with mixing achieved within the immediate viewing area via controllable nanofracture of an atomically thin separation membrane. This novel technique is used to investigate the time evolution of calcium carbonate synthesis, from the earliest stages of nanodroplet precursors to crystalline calcite in a single experiment. The observations provide the first direct visual confirmation of the recently developed liquid-liquid phase separation theory, while the technological advancements open an avenue for many other studies of early stage solution-phase reactions of great interest for both the exploration of fundamental science and developing applications.
KW - calcium carbonate
KW - graphene liquid cells
KW - heterostructure mixing cells
KW - in situ transmission electron microscopy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107535743&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/adma.202100668
DO - 10.1002/adma.202100668
M3 - Article
VL - 33
JO - Advanced materials
JF - Advanced materials
SN - 0935-9648
IS - 29
M1 - 2100668
ER -