RESEARCHERS at the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy (MCEM) have developed new methods by which they can directly observe and measure the tiny displacements of atoms.
This new ability to study atomic behaviour with picometre precision will allow scientists to gain insights into lithium-ion battery performance, and study materials closely. They may also be able to design new “wonder materials” by manipulating the atomic displacement at the picometre scale.
There are implications for energy generation and storage, ultra-efficient solar cells, environmentally friendly sensors, next-gen computing, green technologies and other areas.
“Atoms are the building blocks of nature. If the position of these building blocks is varied, even slightly, the impact on the function of a material can be profound,” said corresponding author, Professor Joanne Etheridge, Director of MCEM. “This new method, combined with MCEM’s powerful electron microscopes, has unveiled exquisitely subtle variations in the arrangement of atoms that drive the important properties of this material.”
Researchers believe that the imaging method should be equally applicable to a variety of material systems and that electron microscopy will become a popular and powerful tool in providing real-space structure information.
0 comments:
Post a Comment