High-Resolution EM of Colloidal Nanocrystal Growth Using Graphene Liquid Cells Jong Min Yuk1,2,3,*, Jungwon Park2,4,*, Peter Ercius5, Kwanpyo Kim1,2,6, Daniel J. Hellebusch4,Michael F. Crommie1,2,6, Jeong Yong Lee3,†, A. Zettl1,2,6,†, A. Paul Alivisat

Science 6 April 2012: 
Vol. 336 no. 6077 pp. 61-64 
DOI: 10.1126/science.1217654

• REPORT

High-Resolution EM of Colloidal Nanocrystal Growth Using Graphene Liquid Cells

1. Jong Min Yuk¹,²,³,*, 
2. Jungwon Park²,⁴,*, 
3. Peter Ercius⁵, 
4. Kwanpyo Kim¹,²,⁶, 
5. Daniel J. Hellebusch⁴,
6. Michael F. Crommie¹,²,⁶, 
7. Jeong Yong Lee³,†, 
8. A. Zettl¹,²,⁶,†, 
9. A. Paul Alivisatos²,⁴,†

+Author Affiliations

1. ¹Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
2. ²Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
3. ³Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, 305-701, South Korea.
4. ⁴Department of Chemistry, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
5. ⁵National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
6. ⁶Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

1. ↵†To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: j.y.lee@kaist.ac.kr (J.Y.L.); azettl@berkeley.edu (A.Z.);alivis@berkeley.edu (A.P.A.)

1. ↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.

ABSTRACT

We introduce a new type of liquid cell for in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) based on entrapment of a liquid film between layers of graphene. The graphene liquid cell facilitates atomic-level resolution imaging while sustaining the most realistic liquid conditions achievable under electron-beam radiation. We employ this cell to explore the mechanism of colloidal platinum nanocrystal growth. Direct atomic-resolution imaging allows us to visualize critical steps in the process, including site-selective coalescence, structural reshaping after coalescence, and surface faceting.

• Received for publication 8 December 2011.
• Accepted for publication 27 February 2012.

Read the Full Text

The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites

In Science Magazine

• PERSPECTIVEMATERIALS SCIENCEWatching Solution Growth of Nanoparticles in Graphene Cells

  • Christian Colliex

  Science 6 April 2012: 44-45.
  • Summary
   
  • Full Text
   
  • Full Text (PDF)

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:

• Watching Solution Growth of Nanoparticles in Graphene CellsScience 6 April 2012: 44-45.
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Full Text (PDF)