title: Three-dimensional imaging of chemical phase transformations at the nanoscale with full-field transmission X-ray microscopy.
abstract: The ability to probe morphology and phase distribution in complex systems at multiple length scales unravels the interplay of nano- and micrometer-scale factors at the origin of macroscopic behavior. While different electron- and X-ray-based imaging techniques can be combined with spectroscopy at high resolutions, owing to experimental time limitations the resulting fields of view are too small to be representative of a composite sample. Here a new X-ray imaging set-up is proposed, combining full-field transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) with X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy to follow two-dimensional and three-dimensional morphological and chemical changes in large volumes at high resolution (tens of nanometers). TXM XANES imaging offers chemical speciation at the nanoscale in thick samples (>20 µm) with minimal preparation requirements. Further, its high throughput allows the analysis of large areas (up to millimeters) in minutes to a few hours. Proof of concept is provided using battery electrodes, although its versatility will lead to impact in a number of diverse research fields.
authors.affiliation: Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Povo, Italy.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Meirer
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cabana
authors.forename: Yijin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Apurva
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Joy C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pianetta