Atomic scale dynamics of a solid state chemical reaction directly determined by annular dark-field electron microscopy.

ABSTRACT: Dynamic processes, such as solid-state chemical reactions and phase changes, are ubiquitous in materials science, and developing a capability to observe the mechanisms of such processes on the atomic scale can offer new insights across a wide range of materials systems. Aberration correction in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has enabled atomic resolution imaging at significantly reduced beam energies and electron doses. It has also made possible the quantitative determination of the composition and occupancy of atomic columns using the atomic number (Z)-contrast annular dark-field (ADF) imaging available in STEM. Here we combine these benefits to record the motions and quantitative changes in the occupancy of individual atomic columns during a solid-state chemical reactio

SUBMITTER: Pennycook TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4273600 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature