Seeing clearly through a liquid
Monday, September 8, 2014 - 05:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Accurately examining materials in liquids using electron microscopy is a difficult task for scientists, as electron beams perturb the sample and induce artifacts. This is especially true when using in situ liquid transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning TEM (STEM) to probe nanomaterials. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and University of California, Davis demonstrated that in in situ liquid experiments, the choice of electron beam energy has a strong effect that goes far beyond merely increasing the concentration of reducing radicals. They also found that when compared to solid samples, radicals formed in the liquid phase are more mobile, and ultimately dictate the choice of TEM imaging mode.