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Chaupard M, Degrouard J, Li X, Stéphan O, Kociak M, Gref R, de Frutos M. Nanoscale Multimodal Analysis of Sensitive Nanomaterials by Monochromated STEM-EELS in Low-Dose and Cryogenic Conditions. ACS NANO 2023; 17:3452-3464. [PMID: 36745677 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c09571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Scanning transmission electron microscopy coupled with electron energy loss spectroscopy (STEM-EELS) provides spatially resolved chemical information down to the atomic scale. However, studying radiation-sensitive specimens such as organic-inorganic composites remains extremely challenging. Here, we analyzed metal-organic framework nanoparticles (nanoMOFs) at low-dose (10 e-/Å2) and liquid nitrogen temperatures, similar to cryo-TEM conditions usually employed for high-resolution imaging of biological specimens. Our results demonstrate that monochromated STEM-EELS enables damage-free analysis of nanoMOFs, providing in a single experiment, signatures of intact functional groups comparable with infrared, ultraviolet, and X-ray data, with an energy resolution down to 7 meV. The signals have been mapped at the nanoscale (<10 nm) for each of these energy spectral ranges, including the chemical features observed for high energy losses (X-ray range). By controlling beam irradiation and monitoring spectral changes, our work provides insights into the possible pathways of chemical reactions occurring under electron exposure. These results demonstrate the possibilities for characterizing at the nanoscale the chemistry of sensitive systems such as organic and biological materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maeva Chaupard
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS, UMR 8502, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91405 Orsay, France
- Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay, CNRS, UMR 8214, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91405 Orsay, France
| | - Jéril Degrouard
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS, UMR 8502, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91405 Orsay, France
| | - Xiaoyan Li
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS, UMR 8502, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91405 Orsay, France
| | - Odile Stéphan
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS, UMR 8502, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91405 Orsay, France
| | - Mathieu Kociak
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS, UMR 8502, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91405 Orsay, France
| | - Ruxandra Gref
- Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay, CNRS, UMR 8214, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91405 Orsay, France
| | - Marta de Frutos
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS, UMR 8502, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91405 Orsay, France
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OUP accepted manuscript. Microscopy (Oxf) 2022; 71:i174-i199. [DOI: 10.1093/jmicro/dfab050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 11/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Konečná A, Li J, Edgar JH, García de Abajo FJ, Hachtel JA. Revealing Nanoscale Confinement Effects on Hyperbolic Phonon Polaritons with an Electron Beam. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2021; 17:e2103404. [PMID: 34453472 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202103404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) enable the direct manipulation of mid-infrared light at nanometer scales, many orders of magnitude below the free-space light wavelength. High-resolution monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) facilitates measurement of excitations with energies extending into the mid-infrared while maintaining nanoscale spatial resolution, making it ideal for detecting HPhPs. The electron beam is a precise source and probe of HPhPs, which allows the observation of nanoscale confinement in HPhP structures and directly extract hBN polariton dispersions for both modes in the bulk of the flake and modes along the edge. The measurements reveal technologically important nontrivial phenomena, such as localized polaritons induced by environmental heterogeneity, enhanced and suppressed excitation due to 2D interference, and strong modification of high-momenta excitations such as edge-confined polaritons by nanoscale heterogeneity on edge boundaries. The work opens exciting prospects for the design of real-world optical mid-infrared devices based on hyperbolic polaritons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Konečná
- ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Castelldefels, Barcelona, 08860, Spain
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, 612 00, Czech Republic
| | - Jiahan Li
- Tim Taylor Department of Chemical Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - James H Edgar
- Tim Taylor Department of Chemical Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - F Javier García de Abajo
- ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Castelldefels, Barcelona, 08860, Spain
- ICREA-Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Passeig Lluís Campanys 23, Barcelona, 08010, Spain
| | - Jordan A Hachtel
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA
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