3D structure of individual nanocrystals in solution by electron microscopy
Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Knowledge about the synthesis, growth mechanisms, and physical properties of colloidal nanoparticles has been limited by technical impediments. We introduce a method for determining three-dimensional (3D) structures of individual nanoparticles in solution. We combine a graphene liquid cell, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, a direct electron detector, and an algorithm for single-particle 3D reconstruction originally developed for analysis of biological molecules. This method yielded two 3D structures of individual platinum nanocrystals at near-atomic resolution. Because our method derives the 3D structure from images of individual nanoparticles rotating freely in solution, it enables the analysis of heterogeneous populations of potentially unordered nanoparticles that are synthesized in solution, thereby providing a means to understand the structure and stability of defects at the nanoscale.
Source: Science
Institutions: Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, Monash University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Molecular Foundry, Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Princeton University, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Amorepacific (South Korea)
Language: English
Subfield: Structural Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Adolph C. and Mary Sprague Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, University of California Berkeley, Ministry of Education, National Research Foundation of Korea, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Office of Science, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard University, Office of Naval Research, Basic Energy Sciences
OpenAlex ID: W1812643764