Advanced Electron Microscopy
Three-dimensional electron diffraction
Three-dimensional electron diffraction (3DED) is a powerful technique for structural analysis of crystals in nano-scale. Using transmission electron microscopes, it breaks the ground that single crystal structure determination can only be accessible for large crystals (> 5 μm) by X-ray techniques. We are applying 3DED in structural elucidation of nanoporous materials, and advance our knowledge on structure-property relationships. We are also actively developing new 3DED techniques to reveal more details of functional materials.
Selected Reviews
T. Yang, T. Willhammar, H. Xu*, X. Zou*, Z. Huang*, Single-Crystal Structure Determination of Nanosized Metal-Organic Frameworks by Three-Dimensional Electron Diffraction, Nat. Protoc. 2022, 17, 2389–2413. [View].
Z. Huang*, T. Willhammar*, X. Zou* Three-Dimensional Electron Diffraction for Porous Crystalline Materials: Structure Determination and Beyond, Chem. Sci. 2021, 12, 1206-1219. [Open Access|View]
Selected Research Articles
M. Ge, H. Xu, X. Zou*, Z. Huang*, Direct Location of Organic Molecules in Framework Materials by Three-Dimensional Electron Diffraction, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2022, 33, 15165–15174 . [Open Access|View].
L. Samperisi, A. Jaworski, G. Kaur, K. P. Lillerud, X. Zou*, Z. Huang*, Probing Molecular Motions in Metal-Organic Frameworks by Three-Dimensional Electron Diffraction, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 17947-17952. [Open Access|View]
M. Ge, Y. Wang, F. Carraro, W. Liang, M. Roostaeinia, S. Siahrostami, D. M. Proserpio, C. Doonan, P. Falcaro, H. Zheng,* X. Zou, Z. Huang* High-Throughput Electron Diffraction Reveals a Hidden Novel Metal-Organic Framework for Electrocatalysis, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11391–11397. [Open Access|View]
High resolution imaging methods
High resolution (scanning) transmission electron microscopy (HR-(S)TEM) imaging can provide detailed information about atomic arrangements in real space. By using aberration-corrected TEM, we are investigating the atomic structures of nanoporous materials in a sub-nanometer resolution, particularly for their local structures and defects.
Selected Research Articles
H. Lv, D. Xu, C. Kong, Z. Liang, H. Zheng, Z. Huang*, and B. Liu*, Synthesis and Crystal-Phase Engineering of Mesoporous Palladium-Boron Alloy Nanoparticles, ACS Cent. Sci. 2020, 6, 2347–2353. [View]
J. Park, M. Lee, D. Feng, Z. Huang, A. C. Hinckley, A. Yakovenko, X. Zou, Y. Cui, and Z. Bao*, Stabilization of Hexaaminobenzene in a 2D Conductive Metal–Organic Framework for High Power Sodium Storage. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 10315-10323. [View]
S. Yuan, B. Cai, J. Peng, Z. Huang, A. T. Garcia-Esparza, D. Sokaras, Y. Zhang, L. Giordano, K. Akkiraju, Y. Zhu, R. Hübner, X. Zou, Y. Román-Leshkov*, Y. Shao-Horn*, Tunable Metal-Hydroxide-Organic Frameworks for Catalyzing Oxygen Evolution, Nat. Mater. 2022, Doi: 10.1038/s41563-022-01199-0. [View]