title: Direct in situ observation of the electron-driven synthesis of Ag filaments on α-Ag2WO4 crystals.
abstract: In this letter, we report, for the first time, the real-time in situ nucleation and growth of Ag filaments on α-Ag2WO4 crystals driven by an accelerated electron beam from an electronic microscope under high vacuum. We employed several techniques to characterise the material in depth. By using these techniques combined with first-principles modelling based on density functional theory, a mechanism for the Ag filament formation followed by a subsequent growth process from the nano- to micro-scale was proposed. In general, we have shown that an accelerated electron beam from an electronic microscope under high vacuum enables in situ visualisation of Ag filaments with subnanometer resolution and offers great potential for addressing many fundamental issues in materials science, chemistry, physics and other fields of science.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemistry, São Paulo State University, Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Electrochemistry and Ceramics, Francisco Degni 55, Araraquara 14800-900, Brazil. elson@iq.unesp.br
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Cavalcante
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Volanti
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Gouveia
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Varela
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Orlandi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Andrés
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D004583:Electrons; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D010316:Particle Size; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014414:Tungsten / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D010087:Oxides; D012834:Silver; C511604:tungsten oxide; D014414:Tungsten