title: Toward Ending the Guessing Game: Study of the Formation of Nanostructures Using In Situ Liquid Transmission Electron Microscopy.
abstract: The field of synthetic nanochemistry has grown tremendously in the past three decades since the discovery of nonaqueous synthesis of monodispersed particles. Almost all classes of materials, from II-VI semiconductor to metal, alloy, and metal oxide can now be prepared in various sizes and shapes. One major challenge has been the development of a technique for direct real-time recording of data during the formation of nanostructures in liquid reaction media where nucleation and growth occur. A viable solution finally arrived with the recent development of static and flow liquid cells for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This Perspective will showcase a few selected examples in this rapidly growing area, with a focus on using the new capabilities of liquid TEM (LTEM) for quantitative study of nucleation and growth, as well as shape formation of nanocrystals in solution. A discussion on future direction is also presented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 206 Roger Adams Laboratory, Box C-3, MC-712, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
authors.forename: Thao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ngo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 206 Roger Adams Laboratory, Box C-3, MC-712, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang