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Sharma R, Yang WCD. Perspective and prospects of in situ transmission/scanning transmission electron microscopy. Microscopy (Oxf) 2024; 73:79-100. [PMID: 38006307 DOI: 10.1093/jmicro/dfad057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 11/27/2023] Open
Abstract
In situ transmission/scanning transmission electron microscopy (TEM/STEM) measurements have taken a central stage for establishing structure-chemistry-property relationship over the past couple of decades. The challenges for realizing 'a lab-in-gap', i.e. gap between the objective lens pole pieces, or 'a lab-on-chip', to be used to carry out experiments are being met through continuous instrumental developments. Commercially available TEM columns and sample holder, that have been modified for in situ experimentation, have contributed to uncover structural and chemical changes occurring in the sample when subjected to external stimulus such as temperature, pressure, radiation (photon, ions and electrons), environment (gas, liquid and magnetic or electrical field) or a combination thereof. Whereas atomic resolution images and spectroscopy data are being collected routinely using TEM/STEM, temporal resolution is limited to millisecond. On the other hand, better than femtosecond temporal resolution can be achieved using an ultrafast electron microscopy or dynamic TEM, but the spatial resolution is limited to sub-nanometers. In either case, in situ experiments generate large datasets that need to be transferred, stored and analyzed. The advent of artificial intelligence, especially machine learning platforms, is proving crucial to deal with this big data problem. Further developments are still needed in order to fully exploit our capability to understand, measure and control chemical and/or physical processes. We present the current state of instrumental and computational capabilities and discuss future possibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renu Sharma
- Materials Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
| | - Wei-Chang David Yang
- Materials Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
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2
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Jeangros Q, Bugnet M, Epicier T, Frantz C, Diethelm S, Montinaro D, Tyukalova E, Pivak Y, Van Herle J, Hessler-Wyser A, Duchamp M. Operando analysis of a solid oxide fuel cell by environmental transmission electron microscopy. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7959. [PMID: 38042850 PMCID: PMC10693604 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43683-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Correlating the microstructure of an energy conversion device to its performance is often a complex exercise, notably in solid oxide fuel cell research. Solid oxide fuel cells combine multiple materials and interfaces that evolve in time due to high operating temperatures and reactive atmospheres. We demonstrate here that operando environmental transmission electron microscopy can identify structure-property links in such devices. By contacting a cathode-electrolyte-anode cell to a heating and biasing microelectromechanical system in a single-chamber configuration, a direct correlation is found between the environmental conditions (oxygen and hydrogen partial pressures, temperature), the cell open circuit voltage, and the microstructural evolution of the fuel cell, down to the atomic scale. The results shed important insights into the impact of the anode oxidation state and its morphology on the cell electrical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Q Jeangros
- Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de la Maladière 71b, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
- Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM), Jaquet-Droz 1, 2002, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
| | - M Bugnet
- Univ Lyon, CNRS, INSA-Lyon, UCBL, MATEIS, UMR 5510, 69621, Villeurbanne, France
| | - T Epicier
- Univ Lyon, CNRS, INSA-Lyon, UCBL, MATEIS, UMR 5510, 69621, Villeurbanne, France
- Univ Lyon, UCBL, IRCELYON, UMR CNRS 5256, F-69626, Villeurbanne, France
| | - C Frantz
- Group of Energy Materials (GEM), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de l'Industrie 17, 1951, Sion, Switzerland
| | - S Diethelm
- Group of Energy Materials (GEM), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de l'Industrie 17, 1951, Sion, Switzerland
| | - D Montinaro
- SolydEra S.p.A., 38017, Mezzolombardo, Italy
| | - E Tyukalova
- Laboratory for in situ & operando Electron Nanoscopy, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), 50 Nanyang Avenue, 63737, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Y Pivak
- DENSsolutions, Informaticalaan 12, 2628 ZD, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - J Van Herle
- Group of Energy Materials (GEM), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de l'Industrie 17, 1951, Sion, Switzerland
| | - A Hessler-Wyser
- Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de la Maladière 71b, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - M Duchamp
- Laboratory for in situ & operando Electron Nanoscopy, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), 50 Nanyang Avenue, 63737, Singapore, Singapore.
- MajuLab, International Joint Research Unit UMI 3654, CNRS, Université Côte d'Azur, Sorbonne Université, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
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Tan M, Leibovich M, Fernandez-Granda C, Crozier PA. In situ Study of Surface Oxygen Exchange and Transport on Ceria at Different Temperatures. MICROSCOPY AND MICROANALYSIS : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY SOCIETY OF AMERICA, MICROBEAM ANALYSIS SOCIETY, MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 2023; 29:1294-1295. [PMID: 37613440 DOI: 10.1093/micmic/ozad067.662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mai Tan
- School for the Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | | | | | - Peter A Crozier
- School for the Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
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Kang B, Vincent JL, Lee Y, Ke L, Crozier PA, Zhu Q. Modeling surface spin polarization on ceria-supported Pt nanoparticles. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2022; 34:255002. [PMID: 35354123 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/ac62a3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we employ density functional theory simulations to investigate possible spin polarization of CeO2-(111) surface and its impact on the interactions between a ceria support and Pt nanoparticles. With a Gaussian type orbital basis, our simulations suggest that the CeO2-(111) surface exhibits a robust surface spin polarization due to the internal charge transfer between atomic Ce and O layers. In turn, it can lower the surface oxygen vacancy formation energy and enhance the oxide reducibility. We show that the inclusion of spin polarization can significantly reduce the major activation barrier in the proposed reaction pathway of CO oxidation on ceria-supported Pt nanoparticles. For metal-support interactions, surface spin polarization enhances the bonding between Pt nanoparticles and ceria surface oxygen, while CO adsorption on Pt nanoparticles weakens the interfacial interaction regardless of spin polarization. However, the stable surface spin polarization can only be found in the simulations based on the Gaussian type orbital basis. Given the potential importance in the design of future high-performance catalysts, our present study suggests a pressing need to examine the surface ferromagnetism of transition metal oxides in both experiment and theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byungkyun Kang
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, United States of America
| | - Joshua L Vincent
- School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, United States of America
| | - Yongbin Lee
- Ames Laboratory, US Department of Energy, Ames, IA 50011, United States of America
| | - Liqin Ke
- Ames Laboratory, US Department of Energy, Ames, IA 50011, United States of America
| | - Peter A Crozier
- School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, United States of America
| | - Qiang Zhu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, United States of America
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Manzorro R, Xu Y, Vincent JL, Rivera R, Matteson DS, Crozier PA. Exploring Blob Detection to Determine Atomic Column Positions and Intensities in Time-Resolved TEM Images with Ultra-Low Signal-to-Noise. MICROSCOPY AND MICROANALYSIS : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY SOCIETY OF AMERICA, MICROBEAM ANALYSIS SOCIETY, MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 2022; 28:1-14. [PMID: 35343415 DOI: 10.1017/s1431927622000356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Spatially resolved in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM), equipped with direct electron detection systems, is a suitable technique to record information about the atom-scale dynamics with millisecond temporal resolution from materials. However, characterizing dynamics or fluxional behavior requires processing short time exposure images which usually have severely degraded signal-to-noise ratios. The poor signal-to-noise associated with high temporal resolution makes it challenging to determine the position and intensity of atomic columns in materials undergoing structural dynamics. To address this challenge, we propose a noise-robust, processing approach based on blob detection, which has been previously established for identifying objects in images in the community of computer vision. In particular, a blob detection algorithm has been tailored to deal with noisy TEM image series from nanoparticle systems. In the presence of high noise content, our blob detection approach is demonstrated to outperform the results of other algorithms, enabling the determination of atomic column position and its intensity with a higher degree of precision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramon Manzorro
- School for the Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, Engineering G Wing #301, 501 E Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ85287, USA
| | - Yuchen Xu
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Joshua L Vincent
- School for the Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, Engineering G Wing #301, 501 E Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ85287, USA
| | - Roberto Rivera
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
| | - David S Matteson
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Peter A Crozier
- School for the Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, Engineering G Wing #301, 501 E Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ85287, USA
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Wardini JL, Vahidi H, Guo H, Bowman WJ. Probing Multiscale Disorder in Pyrochlore and Related Complex Oxides in the Transmission Electron Microscope: A Review. Front Chem 2021; 9:743025. [PMID: 34917587 PMCID: PMC8668443 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.743025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and its counterpart, scanning TEM (STEM), are powerful materials characterization tools capable of probing crystal structure, composition, charge distribution, electronic structure, and bonding down to the atomic scale. Recent (S)TEM instrumentation developments such as electron beam aberration-correction as well as faster and more efficient signal detection systems have given rise to new and more powerful experimental methods, some of which (e.g., 4D-STEM, spectrum-imaging, in situ/operando (S)TEM)) facilitate the capture of high-dimensional datasets that contain spatially-resolved structural, spectroscopic, time- and/or stimulus-dependent information across the sub-angstrom to several micrometer length scale. Thus, through the variety of analysis methods available in the modern (S)TEM and its continual development towards high-dimensional data capture, it is well-suited to the challenge of characterizing isometric mixed-metal oxides such as pyrochlores, fluorites, and other complex oxides that reside on a continuum of chemical and spatial ordering. In this review, we present a suite of imaging and diffraction (S)TEM techniques that are uniquely suited to probe the many types, length-scales, and degrees of disorder in complex oxides, with a focus on disorder common to pyrochlores, fluorites and the expansive library of intermediate structures they may adopt. The application of these techniques to various complex oxides will be reviewed to demonstrate their capabilities and limitations in resolving the continuum of structural and chemical ordering in these systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna L. Wardini
- Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Hasti Vahidi
- Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Huiming Guo
- Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - William J. Bowman
- Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Irvine Materials Research Institute, Irvine, CA, United States
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Atomic level fluxional behavior and activity of CeO 2-supported Pt catalysts for CO oxidation. Nat Commun 2021; 12:5789. [PMID: 34608153 PMCID: PMC8490411 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26047-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Reducible oxides are widely used catalyst supports that can increase oxidation reaction rates by transferring lattice oxygen at the metal-support interface. There are many outstanding questions regarding the atomic-scale dynamic meta-stability (i.e., fluxional behavior) of the interface during catalysis. Here, we employ aberration-corrected operando electron microscopy to visualize the structural dynamics occurring at and near Pt/CeO2 interfaces during CO oxidation. We show that the catalytic turnover frequency correlates with fluxional behavior that (a) destabilizes the supported Pt particle, (b) marks an enhanced rate of oxygen vacancy creation and annihilation, and (c) leads to increased strain and reduction in the CeO2 support surface. Overall, the results implicate the interfacial Pt-O-Ce bonds anchoring the Pt to the support as being involved also in the catalytically-driven oxygen transfer process, and they suggest that oxygen reduction takes place on the highly reduced CeO2 surface before migrating to the interfacial perimeter for reaction with CO.
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8
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Probing atom dynamics of excited Co-Mo-S nanocrystals in 3D. Nat Commun 2021; 12:5007. [PMID: 34408156 PMCID: PMC8373969 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24857-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Advances in electron microscopy have enabled visualizations of the three-dimensional (3D) atom arrangements in nano-scale objects. The observations are, however, prone to electron-beam-induced object alterations, so tracking of single atoms in space and time becomes key to unravel inherent structures and properties. Here, we introduce an analytical approach to quantitatively account for atom dynamics in 3D atomic-resolution imaging. The approach is showcased for a Co-Mo-S nanocrystal by analysis of time-resolved in-line holograms achieving ~1.5 Å resolution in 3D. The analysis reveals a decay of phase image contrast towards the nanocrystal edges and meta-stable edge motifs with crystallographic dependence. These findings are explained by beam-stimulated vibrations that exceed Debye-Waller factors and cause chemical transformations at catalytically relevant edges. This ability to simultaneously probe atom vibrations and displacements enables a recovery of the pristine Co-Mo-S structure and establishes, in turn, a foundation to understand heterogeneous chemical functionality of nanostructures, surfaces and molecules. The authors introduce an analytical approach for quantitative analysis of 3D atom dynamics during electron microscopy. They image a Co-Mo-S nanocrystal with 1.5 Å resolution, and observe chemical transformations caused by beam-stimulated vibrations.
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