371 research outputs found
Atomic Configuration of Nitrogen Doped Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Having access to the chemical environment at the atomic level of a dopant in
a nanostructure is crucial for the understanding of its properties. We have
performed atomically-resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy to detect
individual nitrogen dopants in single-walled carbon nanotubes and compared with
first principles calculations. We demonstrate that nitrogen doping occurs as
single atoms in different bonding configurations: graphitic-like and
pyrrolic-like substitutional nitrogen neighbouring local lattice distortion
such as Stone-Thrower-Wales defects. The stability under the electron beam of
these nanotubes has been studied in two extreme cases of nitrogen incorporation
content and configuration. These findings provide key information for the
applications of these nanostructures.Comment: 25 pages, 13 figure
Spectroscopic imaging of single atoms within a bulk solid
The ability to localize, identify and measure the electronic environment of
individual atoms will provide fundamental insights into many issues in
materials science, physics and nanotechnology. We demonstrate, using an
aberration-corrected scanning transmission microscope, the spectroscopic
imaging of single La atoms inside CaTiO3. Dynamical simulations confirm that
the spectroscopic information is spatially confined around the scattering atom.
Furthermore we show how the depth of the atom within the crystal may be
estimated.Comment: 4 pages and 3 figures. Accepted in Phys.Rev.Let
Temperature‐dependent transmission extended electron energy‐loss fine structure of aluminum
Graphene re-knits its holes
Nano-holes, etched under an electron beam at room temperature in singlelayer
graphene sheets as a result of their interaction with metalimpurities, are
shown to heal spontaneously by filling up with either non-hexagon,
graphene-like, or perfect hexagon 2D structures. Scanning transmission electron
microscopy was employed to capture the healing process and study atom-by-atom
the re-grown structure. A combination of these nano-scale etching and
re-knitting processes could lead to new graphene tailoring approaches.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Silicon–Carbon Bond Inversions Driven by 60-keV Electrons in Graphene
We demonstrate that 60-keV electron irradiation drives the diffusion of threefold-coordinated Si dopants in graphene by one lattice site at a time. First principles simulations reveal that each step is caused by an electron impact on a C atom next to the dopant. Although the atomic motion happens below our experimental time resolution, stochastic analysis of 38 such lattice jumps reveals a probability for their occurrence in a good agreement with the simulations. Conversions from three- to fourfold coordinated dopant structures and the subsequent reverse process are significantly less likely than the direct bond inversion. Our results thus provide a model of nondestructive and atomically precise structural modification and detection for two-dimensional materials
Position and momentum mapping of vibrations in graphene nanostructures in the electron microscope
Propagating atomic vibrational waves, phonons, rule important thermal,
mechanical, optoelectronic and transport characteristics of materials. Thus the
knowledge of phonon dispersion, namely the dependence of vibrational energy on
momentum is a key ingredient to understand and optimize the material's
behavior. However, despite its scientific importance in the last decade, the
phonon dispersion of a freestanding monolayer of two dimensional (2D) materials
such as graphene and its local variations has still remained elusive because of
experimental limitations of vibrational spectroscopy. Even though electron
energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in transmission has recently been shown to
probe the local vibrational charge responses, these studies are yet limited to
polar materials like boron nitride or oxides, in which huge signals induced by
strong dipole moments are present. On the other hand, measurements on graphene
performed by inelastic x-ray (neutron) scattering spectroscopy or EELS in
reflection do not have any spatial resolution and require large microcrystals.
Here we provide a new pathway to determine the phonon dispersions down to the
scale of an individual freestanding graphene monolayer by mapping the distinct
vibration modes for a large momentum transfer. The measured scattering
intensities are accurately reproduced and interpreted with density functional
perturbation theory (DFPT). Additionally, a nanometre-scale mapping of selected
momentum (q) resolved vibration modes using graphene nanoribbon structures has
enabled us to spatially disentangle bulk, edge and surface vibrations
Religions in Vienna in the Past, Present and Future - Key Findings from the WIREL Project
The role of religion is currently a topic of considerable public interest in Vienna as well as across Europe. Over the course of the last half-century, Vienna has witnessed rapidly changing religious composition accompanied by consistently increasing religious diversity.
The various aspects of research conducted by WIREL facilitate the global assessment of both quantitative and qualitative aspects of religious diversity in Vienna. A short report – Religions in Vienna in the Past, Present and Future –summarises the research findings with the aim of making the trends, drivers, and socio-demographic consequences of the changing religious landscape of Vienna more accessible and understandable
Cross-sectional imaging of individual layers and buried interfaces of graphene-based heterostructures and superlattices
By stacking various two-dimensional (2D) atomic crystals [1] on top of each
other, it is possible to create multilayer heterostructures and devices with
designed electronic properties [2-5]. However, various adsorbates become
trapped between layers during their assembly, and this not only affects the
resulting quality but also prevents the formation of a true artificial layered
crystal upheld by van der Waals interaction, creating instead a laminate glued
together by contamination. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has shown
that graphene and boron nitride monolayers, the two best characterized 2D
crystals, are densely covered with hydrocarbons (even after thermal annealing
in high vacuum) and exhibit only small clean patches suitable for atomic
resolution imaging [6-10]. This observation seems detrimental for any realistic
prospect of creating van der Waals materials and heterostructures with
atomically sharp interfaces. Here we employ cross sectional TEM to take a side
view of several graphene-boron nitride heterostructures. We find that the
trapped hydrocarbons segregate into isolated pockets, leaving the interfaces
atomically clean. Moreover, we observe a clear correlation between interface
roughness and the electronic quality of encapsulated graphene. This work proves
the concept of heterostructures assembled with atomic layer precision and
provides their first TEM images
Ptychographic electron microscopy using high-angle dark-field scattering for sub-nanometre resolution imaging
Diffractive imaging, in which image-forming optics are replaced by an inverse computation using scattered intensity data, could, in principle, realize wavelength-scale resolution in a transmission electron microscope. However, to date all implementations of this approach have suffered from various experimental restrictions. Here we demonstrate a form of diffractive imaging that unshackles the image formation process from the constraints of electron optics, improving resolution over that of the lens used by a factor of five and showing for the first time that it is possible to recover the complex exit wave (in modulus and phase) at atomic resolution, over an unlimited field of view, using low-energy (30 keV) electrons. Our method, called electron ptychography, has no fundamental experimental boundaries: further development of this proof-of-principle could revolutionize sub-atomic scale transmission imaging
In situ edge engineering in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides
Exerting synthetic control over the edge structure and chemistry of two-dimensional (2D) materials is of critical importance to direct the magnetic, optical, electrical, and catalytic properties for specific applications. Here, we directly image the edge evolution of pores in Mo1-xWxSe2 monolayers via atomic-resolution in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and demonstrate that these edges can be structurally transformed to theoretically predicted metastable atomic configurations by thermal and chemical driving forces. Density functional theory calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations explain the observed thermally induced structural evolution and exceptional stability of the four most commonly observed edges based on changing chemical potential during thermal annealing. The coupling of modeling and in situ STEM imaging in changing chemical environments demonstrated here provides a pathway for the predictive and controlled atomic scale manipulation of matter for the directed synthesis of edge configurations in Mo-1_xWxSe2 to achieve desired functionality
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