Three-dimensional inhomogeneity of zeolite structure and composition revealed by electron ptychography.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37167385.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.adg3183.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Structural and compositional inhomogeneity is common in zeolites and considerably affects their properties. Thickness-limited lateral resolution, lack of depth resolution, and electron dose-constrained focusing limit local structural studies of zeolites in conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We demonstrate that a multislice ptychography method based on four-dimensional scanning TEM (4D-STEM) data can overcome these limitations. Images obtained from a ~40-nanometer-thick MFI zeolite exhibited a lateral resolution of ~0.85 angstrom that enabled the identification of individual framework oxygen (O) atoms and the precise determination of the orientations of adsorbed molecules. Furthermore, a depth resolution of ~6.6 nanometers allowed probing of the three-dimensional distribution of O vacancies, as well as the phase boundaries in intergrown MFI and MEL zeolites. The 4D-STEM ptychography can be generally applied to other materials with similar high electron-beam sensitivity.