Hybrid nanocapsules for in situ TEM imaging of gas evolution reactions in confined liquids

Abstract

Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) enables the direct observation of dynamic physical and chemical processes in liquids at the Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) enables the direct observation...

Dynamics of Polymer Nanocapsule Buckling and Collapse Revealed by In Situ Liquid-Phase TEM

“…Finally, this work demonstrates the value of in situ TEM for studying complex dynamics in soft materials like liposomes , or synthetic nanocapsules . For instance, in situ TEM can help to optimize the buckling of polymer nanocapsules in more complex situations, e.g., in the presence of flow fields, viscous or nanoparticle-containing cargo, and with capsule walls of heterogeneous composition.…”

“…For instance, in situ TEM can help to optimize the buckling of polymer nanocapsules in more complex situations, e.g., in the presence of flow fields, viscous or nanoparticle-containing cargo, and with capsule walls of heterogeneous composition. Furthermore, the controlled delivery of reagents from polymer nanocapsules, triggered by electron irradiation or other remote stimuli, provides a mechanism for initiating reactions with high spatiotemporal control in confined geometries such as TEM liquid cells . This nanocapsule-based strategy could provide an alternative to complex pumps and valves in liquid cells and could enable high-throughput nanoscale imaging of thousands of independent reactions (e.g., nanocrystal growth , ) confined on a single substrate.…”

“…Furthermore, the controlled delivery of reagents from polymer nanocapsules, triggered by electron irradiation or other remote stimuli, provides a mechanism for initiating reactions with high spatiotemporal control in confined geometries such as TEM liquid cells. 51 This nanocapsule-based strategy could provide an alternative to complex pumps and valves in liquid cells 64 and could enable high-throughput nanoscale imaging of thousands of independent reactions (e.g., nanocrystal growth 65,66 ) confined on a single substrate.…”

“…In situ TEM investigations of buckling have used mechanical indentation to probe dry hollow shells, ,, but many applications require shells that encapsulate or operate in liquid. With recent advancements in liquid-phase in situ TEM, , the dynamics of capsules − and other soft colloids − can now be observed with high spatial and temporal resolution. If the appropriate liquid cell and triggering mechanism were developed, in situ TEM could be exploited to record the complete dynamics of nanocapsule collapse.…”

Robust fully controlled nanometer liquid layers for high resolution liquid-cell electron microscopy

“…The quality of this image is remarkable for a specimen that, with few exceptions, 56,57 would normally require the use of staining agents to be observed by LCEM with sufficient contrast. [58][59][60] We observed electron beam induced sample damage progressing on a timescale of about a minute (ESI † Movie S7), which provided us with sufficient time to record many images at a magnification of 22k× with a dose rate of 1.5 electrons Å −2 s −1 . The stationary nature of the liposomes can be primarily attributed to confinement effects, which are amplified by their interaction with the windowsgiven that and is compressed to a larger extent to ensure the contact between the surfaces defining h nom .…”