ONLINE - PhD Mid-term Seminar Series: Nano-Cinematography: Liquid-Phase TEM to study dynamics of nanoscale objects in native liquid sample environment

CIC nanoGUNE Seminars

Speaker

Stefan Merkens, Electron Microscopy Group

When

2020/06/08
13:00

Place

nanoGUNE online Webinar

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**** **Nano-Cinematography: Liquid-Phase TEM to study dynamics of nanoscale objects in native liquid sample environment** Simultaneously visualizing (functional) nanoscale objects and triggering their dynamics in native liquid sample environment has always been a crucial interest in fields from (bio-) chemistry towards colloidal science. Liquid- Phase Transmission Electron Microscopy (LP-TEM) is a new promising electron microscopy imaging technique to study such nanoscale dynamics in native liquid sample environment.1 Therefore, tiny amounts of sample solution are enclosed between two ultrathin electron beam-transparent membranes forming a liquid cell (LC) and which is integrated into fluidic TEM sample holders. However, there is still one ultimate goal to be achieved in the context of chemistry, which is to experimentally mix reagents, to describe a mechanism of chemical reaction between them and to quantify its kinetics from time-resolved in situ visual inspection at the nanoscale. On the route to this goal, there are several obstacles to face, i.e. accounting for radiolytic effects and their mitigation,2 tracking of fast particle movement in liquid, extracting reaction kinetics from visual TEM data, implementation of theoretical model description, understanding and describing the hydrodynamics of solution replacement and reagent mixing inside the very complex and confined space of fluidic LP-TEM system,3 etc. In this talk, I will allocate state-of-the-art LP-TEM research in this figurative obstacle race towards a reliable and quantitative technique. I will illustrate how in situ particle imaging and tracking can provide new insight into colloidal systems. I will further introduce a unique twofold experimental and simulation-based approach to quantify the hydrodynamic properties of complex micro/nanofluidic LP-TEM systems. Finally, I will demonstrate how our work can support LP-TEM community in better planning of fluidic experiments addressing the challenges mentioned above. **References** 1. Ross, F. M. & de Jonge, N. Past, present and future electron microscopy of liquid specimens. 350, (2018). 2. Schneider, N. M. et al. Electron-Water interactions and implications for liquid cell electron microscopy. J. Phys. Chem. C 118, 22373–22382 (2014). 3. Ring, E. A. & De Jonge, N. Microfluidic system for transmission electron microscopy. Microsc. Microanal. 16, 622–629 (2010). \---------- Please **REGISTER** for PhD Mid-term Seminar Series on Jun 8, 2020 11:00 AM CEST at: [https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7273286317752548363](https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7273286317752548363) After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Thank you very much for your participation!