Dynamics of Nanoscale Dendrite Formation in Solution Growth Revealed Through in Situ Liquid Cell Electron Microscopy

Hauwiller, Matthew R.; Zhang, Xiaowei; Liang, Wen I.; Chiu, Chung Hua; Zhang, Qian; Zheng, Weitao; Ophus, Colin; Chan, Emory M.; Czarnik, Cory; Pan, Ming; Ross, Frances M.; Wu, Wen‐Wei; Chu, Yin Hao; Asta, Mark; Voorhees, Peter W.; Alivisatos, A. Paul; Zheng, Haimei

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02819

Cited by 41 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…The non-dendrite growth and the formation of the highly functional SEI, which allows continuous deposition and dissolution of Mg metal, have shown Mg as a promising candidate for future batteries. Liquid TEM provides us a means for the direct visualization of time-resolved dendrite morphology change [130], allowing such processes to be quantified [131] and for the growth mechanism to be better understood. This can help us find good ways for morphology control to mitigate the dendrite problem in batteries, via tuning of the electrolyte and electrode chemistry and electrode topography.…”

Section: Battery Research 521 Dendrite Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications

2020

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Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has long been an essential tool for understanding the structure of materials. Over the past couple of decades, this venerable technique has undergone a number of revolutions, such as the development of aberration correction for atomic level imaging, the realization of cryogenic TEM for imaging biological specimens, and new instrumentation permitting the observation of dynamic systems in situ . Research in the latter has rapidly accelerated in recent years, based on a silicon-chip architecture that permits a versatile array of experiments to be performed under the high vacuum of the TEM. Of particular interest is using these silicon chips to enclose fluids safely inside the TEM, allowing us to observe liquid dynamics at the nanoscale. In situ imaging of liquid phase reactions under TEM can greatly enhance our understanding of fundamental processes in fields from electrochemistry to cell biology. Here, we review how in situ TEM experiments of liquids can be performed, with a particular focus on microchip-encapsulated liquid cell TEM. We will cover the basics of the technique, and its strengths and weaknesses with respect to related in situ TEM methods for characterizing liquid systems. We will show how this technique has provided unique insights into nanomaterial synthesis and manipulation, battery science and biological cells. A discussion on the main challenges of the technique, and potential means to mitigate and overcome them, will also be presented.

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Section: Battery Research 521 Dendrite Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications

2020

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“…3 This allows us to study dynamic phenomena taking place in the materials in solvated environments 4 with high spatial and temporal resolution. 5,6 Several previous studies were focused on the precipitation and dissolution dynamics of different nanostructured systems utilizing electron-beam-induced phenomena inside a liquid-cell TEM, for example, Cu and Ni nanocrystals, 7 Pd dendritic nanostructures, 8 alloys such as Ag-Pd 7 or more complex structures like CaCO 3 (ref. 9) and CeO 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling the radical-induced redox chemistry inside a liquid-cell TEM

et al. 2019

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“…A liquid cell has been used in conventional TEM to observe chemical dynamics. Williamson, Zheng, and many other researchers have already presented the advantages of liquid cell methods for studying mechanisms of chemical reactions . Recently, electric biasing and optical systems have been applied simultaneously with gas or liquid in the environmental TEM …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Progress of In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy for Energy Materials

et al. 2019

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replacing gasoline, diesel, or other types of fuels with electricity, it is expected that our world will become more environmentally friendly by storing energy directly from sustainable sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, bioenergy, and the ocean. Even Australia, as a country with abundant energy resources, has identified energy as one of the key scientific research priorities. It is clear that the efficiency of energy harvesting and consumption must be improved, emissions must be reduced, and the integration of various energy sources into the electricity grid and chemical storage must be implemented. A desirable outlook is one with a variety of energy sources and mechanisms that significantly reduces carbon emissions and is economical for consumers and society. Recent fast-growing research should boost the development of reliable, highly efficient, low-cost, and sustainable energy materials that are effective for new technologies and that satisfy the growing demand for energy storage and climate change solutions.The progress in energy materials is indeed significant, however, as the expectations of energy materials research are always quite high, it is not sufficient. Particularly, the material performances are always theoretically predicted but are limited by the underlying mechanisms in real applications. As a wellknown example, silicon is expected to deliver a high theoretical capacity of 4200 mAh g −1 in the form of Li 4.4 Si, and is thought to replace the currently commercial graphite with a capacity of 372 mAh g −1 . However, in real applications, it is found that Si exhibits more than 360% of volume expansion during lithiation, which leads to battery anode failure. In the last few years, TEM, especially in situ TEM, has provided exceptional advantages in investigating the lithiation process of silicon anodes: direct imaging, full crystallography information, and real-time recording have all become possible. By directly observing the charge/discharge processes of Si anodes, the dynamics of expansion have been well understood. The research has then been focused on structural designs of composites containing Si to overcome the expansion. The Si composites (for instance, carbon-wrapped Si nanoparticles with different sizes) were directly analyzed by in situ TEM to determine the best structural design. [12] From 2012, in situ TEM became an essential tool to review and evaluate structural designs for high-capacity anodes with significant volume expansions. The same scenarios apply to similar research topics. In situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is one of the most powerfulapproaches for revealing physical and chemical process dynamics at atomic resolutions. The most recent developments for in situ TEM techniques are summarized; in particular, how they enable visualization of various events, measure properties, and solve problems in the field of energy by revealing detailed mechanisms at the nanoscale. Related applications include rechargeable batteries such as Li-ion, Na-ion, Li-O 2 , Na-O 2 , Li...

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Dynamics of Nanoscale Dendrite Formation in Solution Growth Revealed Through in Situ Liquid Cell Electron Microscopy

Cited by 41 publications

References 65 publications

Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications

Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and its applications

Controlling the radical-induced redox chemistry inside a liquid-cell TEM

Recent Progress of In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy for Energy Materials

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