Display options
Cite
Scott MC, Chen CC, Mecklenburg M, et al. Electron tomography at 2.4-ångström resolution. Nature. 2012;483(7390):444-7doi: 10.1038/nature10934.
Scott, M. C., Chen, C. C., Mecklenburg, M., Zhu, C., Xu, R., Ercius, P., Dahmen, U., Regan, B. C., & Miao, J. (2012). Electron tomography at 2.4-ångström resolution. Nature, 483(7390), 444-7. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10934
Scott, M C, et al. "Electron tomography at 2.4-ångström resolution." Nature vol. 483,7390 (2012): 444-7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10934
Scott MC, Chen CC, Mecklenburg M, Zhu C, Xu R, Ercius P, Dahmen U, Regan BC, Miao J. Electron tomography at 2.4-ångström resolution. Nature. 2012 Mar 21;483(7390):444-7. doi: 10.1038/nature10934. PMID: 22437612.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

Nature. 2012 Mar 21;483(7390):444-7. doi: 10.1038/nature10934.

Electron tomography at 2.4-ångström resolution.

Nature

M C Scott, Chien-Chun Chen, Matthew Mecklenburg, Chun Zhu, Rui Xu, Peter Ercius, Ulrich Dahmen, B C Regan, Jianwei Miao

Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy and California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.

PMID: 22437612 DOI: 10.1038/nature10934

Abstract

Transmission electron microscopy is a powerful imaging tool that has found broad application in materials science, nanoscience and biology. With the introduction of aberration-corrected electron lenses, both the spatial resolution and the image quality in transmission electron microscopy have been significantly improved and resolution below 0.5 ångströms has been demonstrated. To reveal the three-dimensional (3D) structure of thin samples, electron tomography is the method of choice, with cubic-nanometre resolution currently achievable. Discrete tomography has recently been used to generate a 3D atomic reconstruction of a silver nanoparticle two to three nanometres in diameter, but this statistical method assumes prior knowledge of the particle's lattice structure and requires that the atoms fit rigidly on that lattice. Here we report the experimental demonstration of a general electron tomography method that achieves atomic-scale resolution without initial assumptions about the sample structure. By combining a novel projection alignment and tomographic reconstruction method with scanning transmission electron microscopy, we have determined the 3D structure of an approximately ten-nanometre gold nanoparticle at 2.4-ångström resolution. Although we cannot definitively locate all of the atoms inside the nanoparticle, individual atoms are observed in some regions of the particle and several grains are identified in three dimensions. The 3D surface morphology and internal lattice structure revealed are consistent with a distorted icosahedral multiply twinned particle. We anticipate that this general method can be applied not only to determine the 3D structure of nanomaterials at atomic-scale resolution, but also to improve the spatial resolution and image quality in other tomography fields.

References

  1. Phys Rev Lett. 2002 Oct 7;89(15):155502 - PubMed
  2. Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Mar 6;102(9):096101 - PubMed
  3. Nature. 2011 Feb 17;470(7334):374-7 - PubMed
  4. Ultramicroscopy. 2008 Nov;108(12):1579-85 - PubMed
  5. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Jun 22;107(25):11234-9 - PubMed
  6. Nat Mater. 2009 Apr;8(4):271-80 - PubMed
  7. Science. 2003 May 30;300(5624):1419-21 - PubMed
  8. Ultramicroscopy. 1984;13(1-2):57-70 - PubMed
  9. ACS Nano. 2009 Jun 23;3(6):1431-6 - PubMed
  10. Nano Lett. 2008 Mar;8(3):891-6 - PubMed
  11. J Struct Biol. 2008 Nov;164(2):221-7 - PubMed
  12. Nature. 2002 Aug 8;418(6898):617-20 - PubMed
  13. Chem Rev. 2004 Jan;104(1):293-346 - PubMed
  14. IEEE Trans Image Process. 2010 May;19(5):1259-68 - PubMed
  15. Annu Rev Biochem. 2005;74:833-65 - PubMed
  16. Ultramicroscopy. 2003 Sep;96(3-4):413-31 - PubMed
  17. Phys Med Biol. 2010 Sep 21;55(18):5383-400 - PubMed
  18. Science. 2005 Sep 30;309(5744):2195-8 - PubMed
  19. Nat Mater. 2009 Apr;8(4):263-70 - PubMed
  20. Science. 2007 Apr 27;316(5824):561-5 - PubMed

Publication Types