Nanoparticle analysis with TEM methods
Ana B. Hungria
University of Cadiz, Spain
Transmission Electron Microscopy is one of the most powerful tools to perform a
profound study at a structural, morphological and compositional level over a wide
range of materials. FEG-STEM microscopes can acquire images both in transmission
(TEM) and scanning-transmission (STEM) modes, acquire energy dispersive X-ray
spectra (XEDS) and register electron energy loss spectra (EELS) which can provide
information about the composition and the electronic structure. The results obtained
with these microscopes, regarded as “nano-laboratories”, can be supplemented with
techniques available in some laboratories as in situ microscopy, with which it is
possible to obtain information on the changes in the sample under the influence of
certain gas pressure and / or temperature and electron tomography, which can
provide information on the three dimensional structure of the sample.
These powerful characterization capabilities have been taken to a new level with the
use of aberration corrected microscopes in which the coupling of sub-Angstrom
resolution with Z-contrast measurements provides unprecedented insights into the
atomic structures and element distribution.