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Using Graphene Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy to Study in Situ Nanocrystal Etching

Graphene liquid cell electron microscopy provides the ability to observe nanoscale chemical transformations and dynamics as the reactions are occurring in liquid environments. This manuscript describes the process for making graphene liquid cells through the example of graphene liquid cell transmiss...

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Autores principales: Hauwiller, Matthew R., Ondry, Justin C., Alivisatos, A. Paul
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MyJove Corporation 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6101270/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29863683
http://dx.doi.org/10.3791/57665
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author Hauwiller, Matthew R.
Ondry, Justin C.
Alivisatos, A. Paul
author_facet Hauwiller, Matthew R.
Ondry, Justin C.
Alivisatos, A. Paul
author_sort Hauwiller, Matthew R.
collection PubMed
description Graphene liquid cell electron microscopy provides the ability to observe nanoscale chemical transformations and dynamics as the reactions are occurring in liquid environments. This manuscript describes the process for making graphene liquid cells through the example of graphene liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments of gold nanocrystal etching. The protocol for making graphene liquid cells involves coating gold, holey-carbon TEM grids with chemical vapor deposition graphene and then using those graphene-coated grids to encapsulate liquid between two graphene surfaces. These pockets of liquid, with the nanomaterial of interest, are imaged in the electron microscope to see the dynamics of the nanoscale process, in this case the oxidative etching of gold nanorods. By controlling the electron beam dose rate, which modulates the etching species in the liquid cell, the underlying mechanisms of how atoms are removed from nanocrystals to form different facets and shapes can be better understood. Graphene liquid cell TEM has the advantages of high spatial resolution, compatibility with traditional TEM holders, and low start-up costs for research groups. Current limitations include delicate sample preparation, lack of flow capability, and reliance on electron beam-generated radiolysis products to induce reactions. With further development and control, graphene liquid cell may become a ubiquitous technique in nanomaterials and biology, and is already being used to study mechanisms governing growth, etching, and self-assembly processes of nanomaterials in liquid on the single particle level.
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spelling pubmed-61012702018-09-11 Using Graphene Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy to Study in Situ Nanocrystal Etching Hauwiller, Matthew R. Ondry, Justin C. Alivisatos, A. Paul J Vis Exp Chemistry Graphene liquid cell electron microscopy provides the ability to observe nanoscale chemical transformations and dynamics as the reactions are occurring in liquid environments. This manuscript describes the process for making graphene liquid cells through the example of graphene liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments of gold nanocrystal etching. The protocol for making graphene liquid cells involves coating gold, holey-carbon TEM grids with chemical vapor deposition graphene and then using those graphene-coated grids to encapsulate liquid between two graphene surfaces. These pockets of liquid, with the nanomaterial of interest, are imaged in the electron microscope to see the dynamics of the nanoscale process, in this case the oxidative etching of gold nanorods. By controlling the electron beam dose rate, which modulates the etching species in the liquid cell, the underlying mechanisms of how atoms are removed from nanocrystals to form different facets and shapes can be better understood. Graphene liquid cell TEM has the advantages of high spatial resolution, compatibility with traditional TEM holders, and low start-up costs for research groups. Current limitations include delicate sample preparation, lack of flow capability, and reliance on electron beam-generated radiolysis products to induce reactions. With further development and control, graphene liquid cell may become a ubiquitous technique in nanomaterials and biology, and is already being used to study mechanisms governing growth, etching, and self-assembly processes of nanomaterials in liquid on the single particle level. MyJove Corporation 2018-05-17 /pmc/articles/PMC6101270/ /pubmed/29863683 http://dx.doi.org/10.3791/57665 Text en Copyright © 2018, Journal of Visualized Experiments http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. To view a copy of this license, visithttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/
spellingShingle Chemistry
Hauwiller, Matthew R.
Ondry, Justin C.
Alivisatos, A. Paul
Using Graphene Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy to Study in Situ Nanocrystal Etching
title Using Graphene Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy to Study in Situ Nanocrystal Etching
title_full Using Graphene Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy to Study in Situ Nanocrystal Etching
title_fullStr Using Graphene Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy to Study in Situ Nanocrystal Etching
title_full_unstemmed Using Graphene Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy to Study in Situ Nanocrystal Etching
title_short Using Graphene Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy to Study in Situ Nanocrystal Etching
title_sort using graphene liquid cell transmission electron microscopy to study in situ nanocrystal etching
topic Chemistry
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6101270/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29863683
http://dx.doi.org/10.3791/57665
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