Grain‐boundary plane, misorientation angle, grain size, and grain‐boundary energy distributions were quantified using electron backscatter diffraction data for dense polycrystalline yttria‐stabilized zirconia, to understand interfacial crystallography in solid oxide fuel cells. Tape‐cast samples were sintered at 1450°C for 4 h and annealed for at least 100 h between 800°C and 1650°C. Distributions obtained from both three‐dimensional (3D) reconstructions and stereological analyses of 2D sections demonstrated that the (100) boundary planes {(111)} have relative areas larger {smaller} than expected in a random distribution, and that the boundary plane distribution is inversely correlated to the boundary energy distribution.

Three‐dimensional electron backscatter diffraction was used to measure the crystallographic distribution of the electrochemically relevant triple phase boundary lines and surfaces near them in SOFC cathodes made up of a porous mixture of yttria‐stabilized zirconia and lanthanum strontium manganese oxide, both before and after mild electrochemical loading. All distributions were observed to be nearly isotropic, but non‐random textures above the detection threshold were observed. The distributions differ between the two cells, as do the phase fractions and the electrochemical history. The different distributions are interpreted as evidence that steady‐state distributions vary locally with phase fractions or that they evolve during the initial operation of the fuel cell. The rates at which triple lines, pore surfaces, and interface boundaries in the porous mixture approach a steady‐state value appear to decrease with the average amount of mass transport required to reorient that specific feature. This work provides initial insights into the crystallography of interfaces in a multiphase ceramic material.

The ability to monitor the spatial and temporal organization of molecules such as biopolymers within a cell is essential to enable the ability to understand the complexity and dynamics existing in biological processes. However, many limitations currently exist in specifically labeling proteins in living cells. In our study, we incorporate nanometer-sized semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) into living cells for spatiotemporal protein imaging of actin polymers in Dictyostelium discoideum without the necessity of using complicating transmembrane transport approaches. We first demonstrate cytoplasmic distribution of QDs within these living amoebae cells and then show molecular targeting through actin filament labeling. Also, we have developed a microfluidic system to control and visualize the spatiotemporal response of the cellular environment during cell motility, which allows us to demonstrate specific localization control of the QD-protein complexes in living cells. This study provides a valuable tool for the specific targeting and analysis of proteins within Dictyostelium without the encumbrance of transmembrane assisted methods, which has implication in fields including polymer physics, material science, engineering, and biology.