De Meyer Robin, Albrecht Wiebke, Bals Sara
EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020, Antwerp, Belgium; Nanolab Centre of Excellence, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020, Antwerp, Belgium.
EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020, Antwerp, Belgium; Nanolab Centre of Excellence, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020, Antwerp, Belgium.
Micron. 2021 May;144:103036. doi: 10.1016/j.micron.2021.103036. Epub 2021 Feb 18.
In situ TEM is a valuable technique to offer novel insights in the behavior of nanomaterials under various conditions. However, interpretation of in situ experiments is not straightforward since the electron beam can impact the outcome of such measurements. For example, ligands surrounding metal nanoparticles transform into a protective carbon layer upon electron beam irradiation and may impact the apparent thermal stability during in situ heating experiments. In this work, we explore the effect of different treatments typically proposed to remove such ligands. We found that plasma treatment prior to heating experiments for Au nanorods and nanostars increased the apparent thermal stability of the nanoparticles, while an activated carbon treatment resulted in a decrease of the observed thermal stability. Treatment with HCl barely changed the experimental outcome. These results demonstrate the importance of carefully selecting pre-treatments procedures during in situ heating experiments.
原位透射电子显微镜是一种宝贵的技术，可在各种条件下为纳米材料的行为提供新的见解。然而，原位实验的解释并非易事，因为电子束会影响此类测量的结果。例如，金属纳米颗粒周围的配体在电子束照射下会转变为保护性碳层，并可能在原位加热实验中影响表观热稳定性。在这项工作中，我们探索了通常用于去除此类配体的不同处理方法的效果。我们发现，在对金纳米棒和纳米星进行加热实验之前进行等离子体处理可提高纳米颗粒的表观热稳定性，而活性炭处理则导致观察到的热稳定性降低。用盐酸处理几乎没有改变实验结果。这些结果证明了在原位加热实验中仔细选择预处理程序的重要性。
