In situ TEM of carbon nanotubes

Abstract

The recognition that in situ TEM can be used as a powerful tool for the dynamic characterization of materials has been widely established. However, with the advent of CCD and direct detection cameras, and the development in electron optics, stage design and fabrication, and recording media, scientists and engineers are now being able to further enhance the capabilities of previous TEM analysis through novel in situ experiments, by observing and recording the behavior of materials in different conditions, such as heating, cooling, stress, light, electric fields, as well as liquid and gas environments. This technique has been critical in understanding and characterizing the relationship between properties and the nano/microstructure of materials and has been important in validating the information contained in previous single static TEM experiments with a series of dynamic sequential images. In addition, the emerging development of nanomaterials, a field which has become one of the most promising fields of science and technology today, has brought an exciting resurgence of interest in in situ TEM, as the previous issue of thinning bulk specimens is no longer present.