2022 Annual Meeting
(698b) Seeing Single Atoms in Materials Via Atomic Electron Tomography
Authors
Saman Moniri - Presenter, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Yao Yang, University of California, Los Angeles
Yakun Yuan, University of California, Los Angeles
Jihan Zhou, University of California, Los Angeles
Xuezeng Tian, University of California, Los Angeles
Dennis S. Kim, University of California, Los Angeles
Dillan J. Chang, University of California, Los Angeles
Minh Pham, University of California, Los Angeles
Colum M. O’Leary, University of California, Los Angeles
Fan Zhu, University of California, Los Angeles
NaYeon Kim, University of California, Los Angeles
Yonggang Yao, University of Maryland, College Park
Christopher J. Ciccarino, Harvard University
Yasutaka Nagaoka, Brown University
Ou Chen, Brown University
Prineha Narang, Harvard University
Andreas K. Schmid, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Colin Ophus, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Hao Zeng, University at Buffalo (SUNY)
Hendrik Heinz, University of Colorado Boulder
Liangbing Hu, University of Maryland
Peter Ercius, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Jianwei Miao, University of California, Los Angeles
The properties and performance of nanomaterials are directly tied to their three dimensional (3D) atomic arrangement and their local chemical environment. Knowledge of the 3D atomic arrangement can also offer insights for tuning the synthesis of nanomaterials with greater stability under relevant operating conditions. Acquiring 3D information from individual nanoparticles has been demonstrated with several (scanning) transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM)-based approaches. Among them, atomic electron tomography (AET) has emerged as a powerful, nondestructive tool capable of revealing the atomic structure of materials in three and, through timeâresolved measurements, four dimensions. By identifying the 3D atomic positions in materials with high precision and without assuming crystallinity, AET establishes a quantitative framework for nanomaterials characterization, linking chemical composition, structure, and functionality. Seminal examples wherein AET has unearthed the local structure of nanomaterials at the singleâatom level are (i) identifying the shortâ and mediumârange order in metallic glasses and other amorphous materials, (ii) correlating the atomic defects of doped 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) to their electronic properties, (iii) capturing how atoms rearrange during early stages of crystal nucleation in four dimensions, and (iv) deciphering the chemical order/disorder in multicomponent nanoparticles, among others. The experimental atomic coordinates have also been used as direct input to density functional theory (DFT) calculations to correlate the measured (unrelaxed) 3D atomic structures with the physical, chemical, and electronic properties of materials, which have shown to provide more accurate predictions than using relaxed atomic coordinates. Here, we illustrate the unique capability of AET to obtain the 3D positions and chemical identity of individual atoms in both crystalline and disordered nanomaterials, and we highlight some potential future avenues through combination of AET with high-throughput, data-driven approaches for the discovery of novel materials for targeted applications.