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Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy for the Study of Soft and Hard Matter

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Materials Characterization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 21704

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Elvio Carlino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Rome. Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM), Sezione di Lecce, Italy
Interests: electron microscopy; physics; materials science; coherent electron diffraction imaging; atomic resolution imaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) enables to study the structural, morphological, electronic, magnetic, and chemical properties of matter at atomic resolution. The invention of the electron microscope, actually realized by Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska in 1931, was believed impossible, or at least useless, by many scientists in the first decades of 20th century. Despite the initial skepticism, electron microscopy has enabled, across the years, the demonstration of fundamental physical properties and the knowledge of matter at atomic resolution, giving core contributions to many scientific disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology, geology, materials science. E. Ruska was acknowledged in 1986 with the Nobel prize in Physics; more recently, in 2017, Joachim Frank, Richard Henderson, and Jacques Dubochet received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of cryo-electron microscopy, a methodology which is revolutionizing our knowledge in structural biology.

The main reason for the success of electron microscopy was, and still is, the ability of the scientific community to develop a plethora of TEM methodologies capable to solve new puzzling problems posed by society’s scientific and technological demands, together with advances in equipment performance and in calculus, which have enabled to maximize the information that can be extracted from TEM experiments.

This Special Issue aims to focus on some important advances in TEM methodologies, Scanning TEM (STEM), and relevant TEM/STEM-based spectroscopies, namely, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS). There are some specific areas of interest that I believe will be of growing importance in the future and fit the scope of this Special Issue: electron microscopy on radiation-sensitive organic and inorganic matter, time-resolved TEM, coherent diffraction imaging in TEM, electron holography with a focus on low-dose approaches, electron tomography, electron energy-loss magnetic chiral dichroism (EMCD), methods to maximize and quantify the information that can be extracted from a TEM/STEM experiment, methods to complement cryo-TEM experiments, thus overcoming the limitations related to averaged imaging.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Dr. Elvio Carlino
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • TEM, STEM, EELS, EDXS
  • Electron microscopy on radiation-sensitive matter, low dose
  • Atomic resolution
  • Theory, data enhancement, quantification, and simulations
  • Magnetic properties of the matter, EMCD
  • Electron tomography
  • Cryo-TEM
  • Electron holography
  • Coherent electron diffraction imaging
  • Time-resolved TEM

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

3 pages, 184 KiB  
Editorial
Special Issue: Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy for the Study of Soft and Hard Matter
by Elvio Carlino
Materials 2021, 14(7), 1711; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14071711 - 31 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1267
Abstract
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) owes its success to the capability to investigate fundamental aspects of nature, answering the human need of knowledge necessary to understand unknown mechanisms and to find new solutions in a variety of fields like physics, biology, medicine, engineering, or [...] Read more.
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) owes its success to the capability to investigate fundamental aspects of nature, answering the human need of knowledge necessary to understand unknown mechanisms and to find new solutions in a variety of fields like physics, biology, medicine, engineering, or chemistry [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy for the Study of Soft and Hard Matter)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

14 pages, 701 KiB  
Article
Exploiting the Acceleration Voltage Dependence of EMCD
by Stefan Löffler, Michael Stöger-Pollach, Andreas Steiger-Thirsfeld, Walid Hetaba and Peter Schattschneider
Materials 2021, 14(5), 1314; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14051314 - 09 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1768
Abstract
Energy-loss magnetic chiral dichroism (EMCD) is a versatile method for measuring magnetism down to the atomic scale in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). As the magnetic signal is encoded in the phase of the electron wave, any process distorting this characteristic phase is detrimental [...] Read more.
Energy-loss magnetic chiral dichroism (EMCD) is a versatile method for measuring magnetism down to the atomic scale in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). As the magnetic signal is encoded in the phase of the electron wave, any process distorting this characteristic phase is detrimental for EMCD. For example, elastic scattering gives rise to a complex thickness dependence of the signal. Since the details of elastic scattering depend on the electron’s energy, EMCD strongly depends on the acceleration voltage. Here, we quantitatively investigate this dependence in detail, using a combination of theory, numerical simulations, and experimental data. Our formulas enable scientists to optimize the acceleration voltage when performing EMCD experiments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy for the Study of Soft and Hard Matter)
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10 pages, 5063 KiB  
Article
Mapping the Magnetic Coupling of Self-Assembled Fe3O4 Nanocubes by Electron Holography
by Lluís López-Conesa, Carlos Martínez-Boubeta, David Serantes, Sonia Estradé and Francesca Peiró
Materials 2021, 14(4), 774; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14040774 - 06 Feb 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1854
Abstract
The nanoscale magnetic configuration of self-assembled groups of magnetite 40 nm cubic nanoparticles has been investigated by means of electron holography in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The arrangement of the cubes in the form of chains driven by the alignment of their [...] Read more.
The nanoscale magnetic configuration of self-assembled groups of magnetite 40 nm cubic nanoparticles has been investigated by means of electron holography in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The arrangement of the cubes in the form of chains driven by the alignment of their dipoles of single nanocubes is assessed by the measured in-plane magnetic induction maps, in good agreement with theoretical calculations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy for the Study of Soft and Hard Matter)
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14 pages, 1862 KiB  
Article
Study of the Microstructure of Amorphous Silica Nanostructures Using High-Resolution Electron Microscopy, Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy, X-ray Powder Diffraction, and Electron Pair Distribution Function
by Lahcen Khouchaf, Khalid Boulahya, Partha Pratim Das, Stavros Nicolopoulos, Viktória Kovács Kis and János L. Lábár
Materials 2020, 13(19), 4393; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13194393 - 01 Oct 2020
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 3791
Abstract
Silica has many industrial (i.e., glass formers) and scientific applications. The understanding and prediction of the interesting properties of such materials are dependent on the knowledge of detailed atomic structures. In this work, amorphous silica subjected to an accelerated alkali silica reaction (ASR) [...] Read more.
Silica has many industrial (i.e., glass formers) and scientific applications. The understanding and prediction of the interesting properties of such materials are dependent on the knowledge of detailed atomic structures. In this work, amorphous silica subjected to an accelerated alkali silica reaction (ASR) was recorded at different time intervals so as to follow the evolution of the structure by means of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), and electron pair distribution function (e-PDF), combined with X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). An increase in the size of the amorphous silica nanostructures and nanopores was observed by HRTEM, which was accompanied by the possible formation of Si–OH surface species. All of the studied samples were found to be amorphous, as observed by HRTEM, a fact that was also confirmed by XRPD and e-PDF analysis. A broad diffuse peak observed in the XRPD pattern showed a shift toward higher angles following the higher reaction times of the ASR-treated material. A comparison of the EELS spectra revealed varying spectral features in the peak edges with different reaction times due to the interaction evolution between oxygen and the silicon and OH ions. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was also used to elucidate the silica nanostructures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy for the Study of Soft and Hard Matter)
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10 pages, 2630 KiB  
Article
Correlative Light and Transmission Electron Microscopy Showed Details of Mitophagy by Mitochondria Quality Control in Propionic Acid Treated SH-SY5Y Cell
by Minkyo Jung, Hyosun Choi, Jaekwang Kim and Ji Young Mun
Materials 2020, 13(19), 4336; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13194336 - 29 Sep 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2952
Abstract
Propionic acid is a metabolite of the microbiome and can be transported to the brain. Previous data show that propionic acid changes mitochondrial biogenesis in SH-SY5Y cells and induces abnormal autophagy in primary hippocampal neurons. Maintaining mitochondrial function is key to homeostasis in [...] Read more.
Propionic acid is a metabolite of the microbiome and can be transported to the brain. Previous data show that propionic acid changes mitochondrial biogenesis in SH-SY5Y cells and induces abnormal autophagy in primary hippocampal neurons. Maintaining mitochondrial function is key to homeostasis in neuronal cells, and mitophagy is the selective autophagy involved in regulating mitochondrial quality. Monitoring mitophagy though light microscopy or conventional transmission electron microscopy separately is insufficient because phases of mitophagy, including autophagosome and autolysosome in nano-resolution, are critical for studies of function. Therefore, we used correlative light and electron microscopy to investigate mitochondrial quality in SH-SY5Y cells after propionic acid treatment to use the advantages of both techniques. We showed, with this approach, that propionic acid induces mitophagy associated with mitochondrial quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy for the Study of Soft and Hard Matter)
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19 pages, 5536 KiB  
Article
In-Line Holography in Transmission Electron Microscopy for the Atomic Resolution Imaging of Single Particle of Radiation-Sensitive Matter
by Elvio Carlino
Materials 2020, 13(6), 1413; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13061413 - 20 Mar 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3090
Abstract
In this paper, for the first time it is shown how in-line holography in Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) enables the study of radiation-sensitive nanoparticles of organic and inorganic materials providing high-contrast holograms of single nanoparticles, while illuminating specimens with a density of current [...] Read more.
In this paper, for the first time it is shown how in-line holography in Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) enables the study of radiation-sensitive nanoparticles of organic and inorganic materials providing high-contrast holograms of single nanoparticles, while illuminating specimens with a density of current as low as 1–2 e−Å−2s−1. This provides a powerful method for true single-particle atomic resolution imaging and opens up new perspectives for the study of soft matter in biology and materials science. The approach is not limited to a particular class of TEM specimens, such as homogenous samples or samples specially designed for a particular TEM experiment, but has better application in the study of those specimens with differences in shape, chemical composition, crystallography, and orientation, which cannot be currently addressed at atomic resolution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy for the Study of Soft and Hard Matter)
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Graphical abstract

14 pages, 4652 KiB  
Article
Tomographic Collection of Block-Based Sparse STEM Images: Practical Implementation and Impact on the Quality of the 3D Reconstructed Volume
by Sylvain Trépout
Materials 2019, 12(14), 2281; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12142281 - 16 Jul 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2324
Abstract
The reduction of the electron dose in electron tomography of biological samples is of high significance to diminish radiation damages. Simulations have shown that sparse data collection can perform efficient electron dose reduction. Frameworks based on compressive-sensing or inpainting algorithms have been proposed [...] Read more.
The reduction of the electron dose in electron tomography of biological samples is of high significance to diminish radiation damages. Simulations have shown that sparse data collection can perform efficient electron dose reduction. Frameworks based on compressive-sensing or inpainting algorithms have been proposed to accurately reconstruct missing information in sparse data. The present work proposes a practical implementation to perform tomographic collection of block-based sparse images in scanning transmission electron microscopy. The method has been applied on sections of chemically-fixed and resin-embedded Trypanosoma brucei cells. There are 3D reconstructions obtained from various amounts of downsampling, which are compared and eventually the limits of electron dose reduction using this method are explored. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy for the Study of Soft and Hard Matter)
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Review

Jump to: Editorial, Research

36 pages, 14440 KiB  
Review
Holography and Coherent Diffraction Imaging with Low-(30–250 eV) and High-(80–300 keV) Energy Electrons: History, Principles, and Recent Trends
by Tatiana Latychevskaia
Materials 2020, 13(14), 3089; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13143089 - 10 Jul 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3420
Abstract
In this paper, we present the theoretical background to electron scattering in an atomic potential and the differences between low- and high-energy electrons interacting with matter. We discuss several interferometric techniques that can be realized with low- and high-energy electrons and which can [...] Read more.
In this paper, we present the theoretical background to electron scattering in an atomic potential and the differences between low- and high-energy electrons interacting with matter. We discuss several interferometric techniques that can be realized with low- and high-energy electrons and which can be applied to the imaging of non-crystalline samples and individual macromolecules, including in-line holography, point projection microscopy, off-axis holography, and coherent diffraction imaging. The advantages of using low- and high-energy electrons for particular experiments are examined, and experimental schemes for holography and coherent diffraction imaging are compared. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy for the Study of Soft and Hard Matter)
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