APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:
Any application involving high resolution study of electrochemical processes, such as:
- Battery development
- Electrocatalysis research
- Nanoparticle research
- Materials science research
- Liquid experiments
- Cryogenic experiments
BENEFITS:
- High flexibility with respect to electrode designs
- Higher spatial resolution
- In-situ spectroscopic characterization (EDX, EELs)
- Useful for nanoparticle studies
- Liquid & Cryogenic from the same cell
- Faster and less costly fabrication
BACKGROUND:
There is growing interest in utilizing transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for observing electrochemical reactions directly, particularly within liquid environments. These experiments require more complex electrochemical liquid cell (E-cell) design (efficient isolation of electrodes to prevent short-circuiting). Conventional cell designs suffer from large cell thicknesses required to incorporate the electrodes, which dramatically reduces the achievable spatial resolution and cannot be used for in situ spectroscopic characterization.
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW:
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have developed liquid electron microscopy cell devices for high resolution imaging and spectroscopy of electrochemical processes. This E-cell features thin membranes and large-area patterned electrodes for use with a thin liquid. This is the first demonstration of an electrochemical setup for liquid cell TEM which is based on electron-transparent polymer membranes.
Compared to conventional E-cell designs, the Berkeley Lab E-cell has a considerably larger electrode surface on the electron transparent membrane, providing the chance to elucidate the effect of the electron beam on the electrochemical reaction. Furthermore, the large observation area brings a high flexibility with respect to electrode designs, which can be easily adjusted for each experiment. Additionally, the reduced thickness of the new E-cell design compared to silicon nitride based E-cells (about 150 nm) results in higher spatial resolution, less noisy images, and imaging at lower electron-dose rates. This reduces electron-beam induced decomposition of the electrolyte, which is essential for reliable experiments. This design is useful for the study of nanoparticles which can be deposited directly onto the electron-transparent micro-electrodes.
DEVELOPMENT STAGE:
Actual system completed and qualified through test and demonstration.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS:
Haimei Zheng, Sophia Betzler, Jiawei Wan, Qiubo Zhang, Xianhu Sun
IP Status:
Patent pending
OPPORTUNITIES:
Available for licensing or collaborative research