The Influence of Ionizing Radiation on Quantification for In Situ and Operando Liquid-Phase Electron Microscopy.
review · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39981755.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1002/adma.202415728 and PMC identifier 11962711.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The ionizing radiation harnessed in electron microscopes or synchrotrons enables unique insights into nanoscale dynamics. In liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy (LP-TEM), irradiating a liquid sample with electrons offers access to real space information at an unmatched combination of temporal and spatial resolution. However, employing ionizing radiation for imaging can alter the Gibbs free energy landscape during the experiment. This is mainly due to radiolysis and the corresponding shift in chemical potential; however, experiments can also be affected by irradiation-induced charging and heating. In this review, the state of the art in describing beam effects is summarized, theoretical and experimental assessment guidelines are provided, and strategies to obtain quantitative information under such conditions are discussed. While this review showcases these effects on LP-TEM, the concepts that are discussed here can also be applied to other types of ionizing radiation used to probe liquid samples, such as synchrotron X-rays.