Development of an analytical environmental TEM system and its application.

Many automotive materials, such as catalysts and fuel cell materials, undergo significant changes in structure or properties when subjected to temperature change or the addition of a gas. For this reason, in the development of these materials, it is important to study the behavior of the material under controlled temperatures and gaseous atmospheres. Recently, a new environmental transmission electron microscope (TEM) has been developed for observation with a high resolution at high temperatures and under gaseous atmospheres, thus making it possible to analyze reaction processes in details. Also, the new TEM provides a high degree of reproducibility of observation conditions, thus making it possible to compare and validate observation of various specimens under a given set of conditions. Furthermore, easiness of gas condition and temperature control can provide a powerful tool for the studying of the mechanism of material change, such as oxidation and reduction reactions.