Description of impact
Electron microscopy is a versatile technique used to study materials formation processes in many different fields, but in most cases provides only static images of the materials after they are removed from the medium in which they were forming. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) allows - with (sub)nanometer resolution - to preserve the sample in its native hydrated stateavoiding artifacts related to drying as often seen with conventional (dry) TEM. However, cryo-TEM only produces snapshots and cannot capture the dynamics of these processes in solution. Liquid phase electron microscopy (LP-EM), however, provides the unique capability to directly observe - in real time - nanoscale dynamics in solution, and recently has increased our understanding of many chemical processes. Where electron microscopy only provides structural and morphological information, the combination with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) provides additional information about the chemical structure of the specimen. Alternatively the combination of structural and chemical information can be obtained by overlaying with fluorescence images using (cryo) correlative light-electron microscopy. Our goal is to combine advanced (electron) microscopy techniques studying biological and synthetic materials formation processes at the nanometer scale and in a setting as close as possible to their native environment.| Category of impact | Research Topic/Theme (at group level) |
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