3D electron diffraction applied to complex nanoparticles and nanominerals Enrico Mugnaioli (1), Mauro Gemmi (2) (1) Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy. (2) Center for Materials Interfaces, Electron Crystallography, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Pontedera (PI), Italy. Electron diffraction has been long regarded as a purely quantitative method, due to poor accuracy and dynamical effects. Yet, in the late 2000’s the first attempts to collect single-crystal electron diffraction data and to use them for ab-initio structure determination revealed unexpectedly successful [1]. In the following ten years, the method has attracted the attention of mineralists, chemists, material scientists and structural biologists, because it has proved able to cover the missing gap between the smallest crystals tractable with X-rays (1-50 μm) and the smallest crystalline seeds (10-100 nm) [2]. The so-called 3D electron diffraction method is very efficient with organic compounds and macromolecules despite their beam sensitivity, but is especially powerful for inorganic materials. In fact, it is possible to collect reliable structural data from particles and areas as small as few tens of nanometers. Here we will show the recent characterization of a series of sub-micrometric crystalline phases found in corundum grains from Luobusa ophiolite, Tibet, China [3-4] (Figure 1). A rich collection of unexpected new minerals was discovered inside a handful of FIB lamellae. Moreover, we will display that 3D electron diffraction can be used for the structural characterization of complex synthetic nanoparticle systems [5-6], possibly besting more established crystallographic methods like powder X-ray diffraction and high-resolution (S)TEM imaging.
3D electron diffraction applied to complex nanoparticles and nanominerals
Mugnaioli E.
;Gemmi M.
2022-01-01
Abstract
3D electron diffraction applied to complex nanoparticles and nanominerals Enrico Mugnaioli (1), Mauro Gemmi (2) (1) Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy. (2) Center for Materials Interfaces, Electron Crystallography, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Pontedera (PI), Italy. Electron diffraction has been long regarded as a purely quantitative method, due to poor accuracy and dynamical effects. Yet, in the late 2000’s the first attempts to collect single-crystal electron diffraction data and to use them for ab-initio structure determination revealed unexpectedly successful [1]. In the following ten years, the method has attracted the attention of mineralists, chemists, material scientists and structural biologists, because it has proved able to cover the missing gap between the smallest crystals tractable with X-rays (1-50 μm) and the smallest crystalline seeds (10-100 nm) [2]. The so-called 3D electron diffraction method is very efficient with organic compounds and macromolecules despite their beam sensitivity, but is especially powerful for inorganic materials. In fact, it is possible to collect reliable structural data from particles and areas as small as few tens of nanometers. Here we will show the recent characterization of a series of sub-micrometric crystalline phases found in corundum grains from Luobusa ophiolite, Tibet, China [3-4] (Figure 1). A rich collection of unexpected new minerals was discovered inside a handful of FIB lamellae. Moreover, we will display that 3D electron diffraction can be used for the structural characterization of complex synthetic nanoparticle systems [5-6], possibly besting more established crystallographic methods like powder X-ray diffraction and high-resolution (S)TEM imaging.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
