Imaging Beam‐Sensitive Materials by Electron Microscopy

Abstract

Electron microscopy allows the extraction of multidimensional spatiotemporally correlated structural information of diverse materials down to atomic resolution, which is essential for figuring out their structureproperty relationships. Unfortunately, the high-energy electrons that carry this important information can cause damage by modulating the structures of the materials. This has become a significant problem concerning the recent boost in materials science applications of a wide range of beam-sensitive materials, including metal-organic frameworks, covalent-organic frameworks, organicinorganic hybrid materials, 2D materials, and zeolites. To this end, developing electron microscopy techniques that minimize the electron beam damage for the extraction of intrinsic structural information turns out to be a compelling but challenging need. This article provides a comprehensive review on the revolutionary strategies toward the electron microscopic imaging of beamsensitive materials and associated materials science discoveries, based on the principles of electron-matter interaction and mechanisms of electron beam damage. Finally, perspectives and future trends in this field are put forward. he worked as a postdoctoral fellow and research scientist at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. His research interests now focus on low-dose electron microscopy and structural elucidation of beam-sensitive materials for applications such as catalysis, gas separation, and energy conversion/storage.

Characterizing photocatalysts for water splitting: from atoms to bulk and from slow to ultrafast processes

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Mitigation of radiation damage in biological macromolecules via tunable picosecond pulsed transmission electron microscopy

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“…Less common inelastic scattering from electron-electron interactions can cause ionization damage (radiolysis). Both scattering processes contribute to electrostatic charging, hydrocarbon contamination and heating of the sample [3][4][5] . Radiolysis in particular rapidly damages organic and biological crystal structure; intensity and contrast in diffraction patterns will fade as the same area of the sample is exposed to an increasing dose of beam electrons 3,6 .…”