Operando spectral imaging of the lithium ion battery's solid-electrolyte interphase.

The lithium-ion battery is currently the preferred power source for applications ranging from smart phones to electric vehicles. Imaging the chemical reactions governing its function as they happen, with nanoscale spatial resolution and chemical specificity, is a long-standing open problem. Here, we demonstrate operando spectrum imaging of a Li-ion battery anode over multiple charge-discharge cycles using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM).

Development of Facile and Versatile Platinum Drug Delivering Silicasome Nanocarriers for Efficient Pancreatic Cancer Chemo-Immunotherapy.

In this study a mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSNP) based platform is developed for high-dose loading of a range of activated platinum (Pt) chemo agents that can be attached to the porous interior through the use of electrostatic and coordination chemistry under weak-basic pH conditions. In addition to the design feature for improving drug delivery, the MSNP can also be encapsulated in a coated lipid bilayer (silicasome), to improve the colloidal stability after intravenous (IV) injection. Improved pharmacokinetics and intratumor delivery of encapsulated activated oxaliplatin (1,2-diamminocyclohexane platinum(II) (DACHPt)) over free drug in an orthotopic Kras-derived pancreatic cancer (PDAC) model is demonstrated.

Differential electron yield imaging with STXM.

Total electron yield (TEY) imaging is an established scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) technique that gives varying contrast based on a sample's geometry, elemental composition, and electrical conductivity. However, the TEY-STXM signal is determined solely by the electrons that the beam ejects from the sample. A related technique, X-ray beam-induced current (XBIC) imaging, is sensitive to electrons and holes independently, but requires electric fields in the sample.

Electron-Transparent Thermoelectric Coolers Demonstrated with Nanoparticle and Condensation Thermometry.

More efficient thermoelectric devices would revolutionize refrigeration and energy production, and low-dimensional thermoelectric materials are predicted to be more efficient than their bulk counterparts. But nanoscale thermoelectric devices generate thermal gradients on length scales that are too small to resolve with traditional thermometry methods. Here we fabricate, using single-crystal bismuth telluride (BiTe) and antimony/bismuth telluride (SbBiTe) flakes exfoliated from commercially available bulk materials, functional thermoelectric coolers (TECs) that are only 100 nm thick.

Irreversibility at macromolecular scales in the flake graphite of the lithium-ion battery anode.

Charging a commercial lithium-ion battery intercalates lithium into the graphite-based anode, creating various lithium carbide structures. Despite their economic importance, these structures and the dynamics of their charging-discharging transitions are not well-understood. We have videoed single microcrystals of high-quality, natural graphite undergoing multiple lithiation-delithiation cycles.

Electron beam-induced current imaging with two-angstrom resolution.

An electron microscope's primary beam simultaneously ejects secondary electrons (SEs) from the sample and generates electron beam-induced currents (EBICs) in the sample. Both signals can be captured and digitized to produce images. The off-sample Everhart-Thornley detectors that are common in scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) can detect SEs with low noise and high bandwidth.

In situ coherent diffractive imaging.

Coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) has been widely applied in the physical and biological sciences using synchrotron radiation, X-ray free-electron laser, high harmonic generation, electrons, and optical lasers. One of CDI's important applications is to probe dynamic phenomena with high spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we report the development of a general in situ CDI method for real-time imaging of dynamic processes in solution.

Publisher Correction: Intercalation events visualized in single microcrystals of graphite.

The Peer Review File associated with this Article was updated shortly after publication to redact confidential comments to the editor.

Intercalation events visualized in single microcrystals of graphite.

The electrochemical intercalation of layered materials, particularly graphite, is fundamental to the operation of rechargeable energy-storage devices such as the lithium-ion battery and the carbon-enhanced lead-acid battery. Intercalation is thought to proceed in discrete stages, where each stage represents a specific structure and stoichiometry of the intercalant relative to the host. However, the three-dimensional structures of the stages between unintercalated and fully intercalated are not known, and the dynamics of the transitions between stages are not understood.