Structural characteristics of a high-quality Al?Ni?Ru decagonal quasicrystal with 1.6nm periodicity, studied by atomic-scale electron microscopy observations

2001 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 425-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Sun ◽  
T. Ohsuna ◽  
K. Hiraga
2009 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Daudon ◽  
Dominique Bazin ◽  
Gilles André ◽  
Paul Jungers ◽  
Alain Cousson ◽  
...  

Kidney stones made of whewellite,i.e.calcium oxalate monohydrate, exhibit various morphological aspects. The crystalline structure of whewellite at the atomic scale was revisited through a single-crystal neutron study at room temperature using a four-circle automated diffractometer. The possible relationships between the various morphological types of whewellite stones and their structural characteristics were examined at the mesoscopic scale by the use of scanning electron microscopy and at the nanometric scale by powder neutron diffraction. All types of whewellite stones displayed a similar structure at the nanometric scale. However, significant differences were found at the mesoscopic scale. In particular, the crystallites in kidney stones resulting from a genetic hyperoxaluria exhibited a peculiar structure. There was a close relationship between stone morphology and crystallite organization at the mesoscopic level and the effectiveness of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy.


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C892-C892
Author(s):  
Yasuhiro Sakamoto

Materials with mesoscale structural characteristics have attracted great attention across the fields of chemistry, physics, and materials science. A typical example is mesoporous silica, which are synthesized in water/surfactant/silica systems, and has well-defined mesopores resulting in high surface area. Mesoporous silicas have two defining structural characteristics: (i) disorder at the atomic scale, i.e. only short-range order; and (ii) distinct order at the mesoscale, i.e. long-range order. Atomic-scale structural characterization by common diffraction techniques, such as X-ray single crystal diffraction, is challenging for these partially ordered materials. This is because of the difficulty in obtaining large (> 10 µm) single crystals, and because large-distance periodic features cause diffraction intensities to fall off rapidly with scattering angle, so that only limited small-angle data are available. On the other hand, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a powerful tool for structural characterization at the mesoscale level due to the stronger interaction of electrons with matter compared to X-rays, enabling the use of very small crystals. In particular, high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) images give the phase and the amplitude of the crystal structure factors experimentally, leading to a 3D structural model by electron crystallography. Cage-type anionic-surfactant-templated mesoporous silicas display rich structural diversity. Among them, cage-type mesoporous silica with tetrahedrally close-packed (TCP) structures can be described by four types of polyhedra, 5^12, 5^12 6^2, 5^12 6^3, and 5^12 6^4.[1] A variety of structural polymorph have been observed and characterized by TEM. Their structures show a close resemblance to the Frank-Kasper phases, which are well known in intermetallic compounds. We found mesoporous silica with dodecagonal quasicrystalline ordering as one of the TCP structures (Figure).[2] In this presentation, I will discuss structural characterization of aperiodic crystals at the mesoscale, such as mesoporous silicas and binary colloidal crystals, by electron microscopy.


Author(s):  
R. Gronsky

The phenomenon of clustering in Al-Ag alloys has been extensively studied since the early work of Guinierl, wherein the pre-precipitation state was characterized as an assembly of spherical, ordered, silver-rich G.P. zones. Subsequent x-ray and TEM investigations yielded results in general agreement with this model. However, serious discrepancies were later revealed by the detailed x-ray diffraction - based computer simulations of Gragg and Cohen, i.e., the silver-rich clusters were instead octahedral in shape and fully disordered, atleast below 170°C. The object of the present investigation is to examine directly the structural characteristics of G.P. zones in Al-Ag by high resolution transmission electron microscopy.


Author(s):  
R. L. Lyles ◽  
S. J. Rothman ◽  
W. Jäger

Standard techniques of electropolishing silver and silver alloys for electron microscopy in most instances have relied on various CN recipes. These methods have been characteristically unsatisfactory due to difficulties in obtaining large electron transparent areas, reproducible results, adequate solution lifetimes, and contamination free sample surfaces. In addition, there are the inherent health hazards associated with the use of CN solutions. Various attempts to develop noncyanic methods of electropolishing specimens for electron microscopy have not been successful in that the specimen quality problems encountered with the CN solutions have also existed in the previously proposed non-cyanic methods.The technique we describe allows us to jet polish high quality silver and silver alloy microscope specimens with consistant reproducibility and without the use of CN salts.The solution is similar to that suggested by Myschoyaev et al. It consists, in order of mixing, 115ml glacial actic acid (CH3CO2H, specific wt 1.04 g/ml), 43ml sulphuric acid (H2SO4, specific wt. g/ml), 350 ml anhydrous methyl alcohol, and 77 g thiourea (NH2CSNH2).


Author(s):  
David J. Smith

The era of atomic-resolution electron microscopy has finally arrived. In virtually all inorganic materials, including oxides, metals, semiconductors and ceramics, it is possible to image individual atomic columns in low-index zone-axis projections. A whole host of important materials’ problems involving defects and departures from nonstoichiometry on the atomic scale are waiting to be tackled by the new generation of intermediate voltage (300-400keV) electron microscopes. In this review, some existing problems and limitations associated with imaging inorganic materials are briefly discussed. The more immediate problems encountered with organic and biological materials are considered elsewhere.Microscope resolution. It is less than a decade since the state-of-the-art, commercially available TEM was a 200kV instrument with a spherical aberration coefficient of 1.2mm, and an interpretable resolution limit (ie. first zero crossover of the contrast transfer function) of 2.5A.


Author(s):  
J. L. Lee ◽  
C. A. Weiss ◽  
R. A. Buhrman ◽  
J. Silcox

BaF2 thin films are being investigated as candidates for use in YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) / BaF2 thin film multilayer systems, given the favorable dielectric properties of BaF2. In this study, the microstructural and chemical compatibility of BaF2 thin films with YBCO thin films is examined using transmission electron microscopy and microanalysis. The specimen was prepared by using laser ablation to first deposit an approximately 2500 Å thick (0 0 1) YBCO thin film onto a (0 0 1) MgO substrate. An approximately 7500 Å thick (0 0 1) BaF2 thin film was subsequendy thermally evaporated onto the YBCO film.Images from a VG HB501A UHV scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) operating at 100 kV show that the thickness of the BaF2 film is rather uniform, with the BaF2/YBCO interface being quite flat. Relatively few intrinsic defects, such as hillocks and depressions, were evident in the BaF2 film. Moreover, the hillocks and depressions appear to be faceted along {111} planes, suggesting that the surface is smooth and well-ordered on an atomic scale and that an island growth mechanism is involved in the evolution of the BaF2 film.


Author(s):  
Seiji Isoda ◽  
Kimitsugu Saitoh ◽  
Sakumi Moriguchi ◽  
Takashi Kobayashi

On the observation of structures by high resolution electron microscopy, recording materials with high sensitivity and high quality is awaited, especially for the study of radiation sensitive specimens. Such recording material should be easily combined with the minimum dose system and cryoprotection method. Recently a new recording material, imaging plate, comes to be widely used in X-ray radiography and also in electron microscopy, because of its high sensitivity, high quality and the easiness in handling the images with a computer. The properties of the imaging plate in 100 to 400 kV electron microscopes were already discussed and the effectiveness was revealed.It is demanded to study the applicability of the imaging plate to high voltage electron microscopy. The quality of the imaging plate was investigated using an imaging plate system (JEOL EM-HSR100) equipped in a new Kyoto 1000kV electron microscope. In the system both the imaging plate and films can be introduced together into the camera chamber. Figure 1 shows the effect of accelerating voltage on read-out signal intensities from the imaging plate. The characteristic of commercially available imaging plates is unfortunately optimized for 100 to 200 keV electrons and then for 600 to 1000 keV electrons the signal is reduced. In the electron dose range of 10−13 to 10−10 C/cm2, the signal increases linearly with logarithm of electron dose in all acceralating volatges.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurelio A. Rossinelli ◽  
Henar Rojo ◽  
Aniket S. Mule ◽  
Marianne Aellen ◽  
Ario Cocina ◽  
...  

<div>Colloidal semiconductor nanoplatelets exhibit exceptionally narrow photoluminescence spectra. This occurs because samples can be synthesized in which all nanoplatelets share the same atomic-scale thickness. As this dimension sets the emission wavelength, inhomogeneous linewidth broadening due to size variation, which is always present in samples of quasi-spherical nanocrystals (quantum dots), is essentially eliminated. Nanoplatelets thus offer improved, spectrally pure emitters for various applications. Unfortunately, due to their non-equilibrium shape, nanoplatelets also suffer from low photo-, chemical, and thermal stability, which limits their use. Moreover, their poor stability hampers the development of efficient synthesis protocols for adding high-quality protective inorganic shells, which are well known to improve the performance of quantum dots. <br></div><div>Herein, we report a general synthesis approach to highly emissive and stable core/shell nanoplatelets with various shell compositions, including CdSe/ZnS, CdSe/CdS/ZnS, CdSe/Cd<sub>x</sub>Zn<sub>1–x</sub>S, and CdSe/ZnSe. Motivated by previous work on quantum dots, we find that slow, high-temperature growth of shells containing a compositional gradient reduces strain-induced crystal defects and minimizes the emission linewidth while maintaining good surface passivation and nanocrystal uniformity. Indeed, our best core/shell nanoplatelets (CdSe/Cd<sub>x</sub>Zn<sub>1–x</sub>S) show photoluminescence quantum yields of 90% with linewidths as low as 56 meV (19.5 nm at 655 nm). To confirm the high quality of our different core/shell nanoplatelets for a specific application, we demonstrate their use as gain media in low-threshold ring lasers. More generally, the ability of our synthesis protocol to engineer high-quality shells can help further improve nanoplatelets for optoelectronic devices.</div>


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