Search

Cryo-STEM tomography of ferritin crystallization is used to reveal nonclassical evolution of crystalline order, indicating that it may be desolvation that drives the continuous evolution of order in crystallization.

Dark plasmonic modes fare better in some applications due to longer lifetimes but, being subradiant, are difficult to probe. The authors apply electron energy loss spectroscopy to demonstrate that a dark mode of a plasmonic cavity can couple with a few quantum emitters to exhibit vacuum Rabi splitting.

Many animals display brilliant colors thanks to the precise formation of guanine crystals within specialized organelles. Here, the authors demonstrate that dynamic pH shifts orchestrate this process: an initially acidic lumen stabilizes amorphous, protonated guanine and subsequent alkalinization triggers its crystallization.

The typical high-surface-area and voids of nanoscale cage structures make them attractive for catalysis, gas storage and drug delivery. Contrary to other metal–semiconductor particles, a ruthenium cage is now shown to grow selectively on the edges of a faceted copper sulphide nanocrystal.

Cryo-scanning transmission electron tomography (CSTET) of unstained, fully hydrated vitrified biological specimens is shown to have advantages over cryo-electron tomography (CET), notably at high sample tilts providing greater depth resolution for thick samples.

In situ evaporation of Eu and As onto InAs nanowires results in the mutual exchange of Eu from the shell with In from the core. This solid-state exchange reaction converts wurtzite InAs nanowires into Zintl Eu₃In₂As₄.

Single crystallinity combined with multidomain morphology is counterintuitive. Here, the authors achieve such a phenomenon in a metal-organic framework that also displays chirality at both the molecular and morphological levels.

Inorganic structured nanomaterials with chiral symmetry groups may have interesting optical activities. Here, the authors use biomolecules to synthesize chiral tellurium and selenium nanostructures, which exhibit visible optical and chiroptical responses and may be used as templates for mixed metal structures.

Coulombic interactions can be used to assemble charged nanoparticles into higher-order structures, but this process typically requires similarly sized oppositely charged partners. Now, small anions or cations with as few as three charges have been shown to induce attractive interactions between oppositely charged nanoparticles in water, guiding the assembly of colloidal crystals.

Metal-halide perovskites are promising photovoltaic materials, but fundamental questions remain open due to their structural complexity. Here the authors show, by correlated microscopy and spectroscopy methods, that epitaxially induced lattice distortions drive a size dependent modulation of the bandgap in a homogeneous nanowire system.

The coexistence of single-crystallinity with a multidomain morphology is a paradoxical crystallographic phenomenon. Here, the authors introduce a crystallographic morphology never reported before. The single-crystals with a curved and hollow morphology offer opportunities to generate a class of synthetic multidomain crystals.

Understanding nanocrystal growth pathways under their native fabrication environment remains a central goal of science. By synthesizing nanofluorides under in-situ NMR conditions, the authors are able to probe their sub-nm growth evolution, elucidating their formation by coalescence or monomer-attachment.

Homogeneous crystal nucleation has now been observed by transmission electron microscopy in real time on a molecular scale. Countercation-dependent observations of polyoxometalate proto-crystal formation confirm existence of a higher energy classical molecular attachment mechanism, as well as a lower energy two-step mechanism via an intermediate dense phase.

Liquid phase exfoliation is frequently used to produce 2D nanosheets from layered materials, but determining sheet thickness in situhas not been possible. Here, the authors report a spectroscopic technique capable of determining sheet thickness, sheet lengths and concentrations directly from dispersions.

Choice of MAX phase precursor plays a significant role on the structure and properties of MXenes. Here, carbon fibers are used as the carbon source and template for the MAX phase, resulting in a Ti₃C₂T_x MXene with a tubular morphology.

Liquid cell electron microscopy provides a unique combination of spatial and temporal resolution, which is useful for imaging static and dynamic processes in liquids. In this Review, we discuss the resolution expected when imaging liquid specimens in transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy and consider the benefits of spherical and chromatic aberration for resolution, image interpretability and dose efficiency.