Identifying and mapping the polytypes and orientation relationships in ZnO/CdSe core-shell nanowire arrays

Comparing Scanning Electron Microscope and Transmission Electron Microscope Grain Mapping Techniques Applied to Well-Defined and Highly Irregular Nanoparticles

Investigating how grain structure affects the functional properties of nanoparticles requires a robust method for nanoscale grain mapping. In this study, we directly compare the grain mapping ability of transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) in a scanning electron microscope to automated crystal orientation mapping (ACOM) in a transmission electron microscope across multiple nanoparticle materials. Analysis of well-defined Au, ZnO, and ZnSe nanoparticles showed that the grain orientations and GB geometries obtained by TKD are accurate and match those obtained by ACOM. For more complex polycrystalline Cu nanostructures, TKD provided an interpretable grain map whereas ACOM, with or without precession electron diffraction, yielded speckled, uninterpretable maps with orientation errors. Acquisition times for TKD were generally shorter than those for ACOM. Our results validate the use of TKD for characterizing grain orientation and grain boundary distributions in nanoparticles, providing a framework for the broader exploration of how microstructure influences nanoparticle properties.

Scanning transmission electron diffraction methods

Scanning diffraction experiments are approaches that take advantage of many of the recent advances in technology (e.g. computer control, detectors, data storage and analysis) for the transmission electron microscope, allowing the crystal structure of materials to be studied with extremely high precision at local positions across large areas of sample. The ability to map the changing crystal structure makes such experiments a powerful tool for the study of microstructure in all its forms from grains and orientations, to secondary phases and interfaces, strain and defects. This review will introduce some of the fundamental concepts behind the breadth of the technique and showcase some of the recent developments in experiment development and applications to materials.