Date | 13th, Apr 2019 |
---|
Home > Press > New microscopy method provides more details about nanocomposites
HAADF-S/TEM imaging of aqueous Poloxamer gal-based nanocomposites with the fluid cell in situ. Left: Nanoparticles as small as ~6 nm are clearly seen in a surrounding thick gel matrix. Right: Intensity line scan of a random single particle dispersed in gel. SNR=5 corresponds to the Rose criteria threshold for visibility of nanoparticles.Abstract: Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have developed a new microscopy approach for imaging gel nanocomposites in their natural state, which will reveal more useful information about their assembly and properties.
Ames, IA | Posted on April 12th, 2019
Researchers are excited about imaging nanoparticles in poloxamers, a group of oddly-behaving polymer materials that are liquid at low temperature and a gel at higher temperatures. Because of their interesting phase behavior, these gels show promise in potentially acting as a matrix medium for arrangement of nanoparticles within these gels to obtain materials with interesting optical properties. However, currently, it is very difficult to image nanoparticles within a gel environment.
Like the old idiom "nailing jelly to a wall," getting a close and accurate look at how these nanoparticle-and-gel systems organized themselves has proven difficult for scientists who want to learn more about their properties and how to control them.
"It's basically a goo. It's like honey when cold, and at warmer temperatures it sets into a something like Jello," said Tanya Prozorov, a scientist in Ames Laboratory's Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering. "It's a state of matter that doesn't lend itself well to the thin samples we use in TEM (transmission electron microscopy). Attempting to look at freeze-dried, thin-layer samples of the gel isn't ideal; valuable information gets lost."
Using a new approach with fluid cell scanning/transmission electron microscopy, Prozorov and her colleagues used a molecular printer to deposit miniscule (femtoliter, one quadrillionth of a liter) volumes of poloxamer combined with gold nanoparticles, and observe them under controlled temperature and humidity.
####
About Ames LaboratoryAmes Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory operated by Iowa State University. Ames Laboratory creates innovative materials, technologies and energy solutions. We use our expertise, unique capabilities and interdisciplinary collaborations to solve global problems.
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:Laura Millsaps
Copyright © Ames Laboratory
If you have a comment, please Contact us.
Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Imaging
An artificial intelligence probe help see tumor malignancy July 1st, 2022
Visualizing the invisible: New fluorescent DNA label reveals nanoscopic cancer features March 4th, 2022
News and information
Two opposing approaches could give lithium-sulfur batteries a leg up over lithium-ion July 1st, 2022
Efficiently processing high-quality periodic nanostructures with ultrafast laser July 1st, 2022
Photonic synapses with low power consumption and high sensitivity are expected to integrate sensing-memory-preprocessing capabilities July 1st, 2022
Laboratories
University of Illinois Chicago joins Brookhaven Lab's Quantum Center June 10th, 2022
A one-stop shop for quantum sensing materials May 27th, 2022
Videos/Movies
Scientists prepare for the world�s smallest race: Nanocar Race II March 18th, 2022
Visualizing the invisible: New fluorescent DNA label reveals nanoscopic cancer features March 4th, 2022
OCSiAl receives the green light for Luxembourg graphene nanotube facility project to power the next generation of electric vehicles in Europe March 4th, 2022
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
Solving the solar energy storage problem with rechargeable batteries that can convert and store energy at once June 24th, 2022
Boron nitride nanotube fibers get real: Rice lab creates first heat-tolerant, stable fibers from wet-spinning process June 24th, 2022
UBCO researchers change the game when it comes to activity tracking: Flexible, highly sensitive motion device created by extrusion printing June 17th, 2022
University of Illinois Chicago joins Brookhaven Lab's Quantum Center June 10th, 2022
Discoveries
Sieving carbons: Ideal anodes for high-energy sodium-ion batteries July 1st, 2022
Efficiently processing high-quality periodic nanostructures with ultrafast laser July 1st, 2022
Photonic synapses with low power consumption and high sensitivity are expected to integrate sensing-memory-preprocessing capabilities July 1st, 2022
Announcements
Two opposing approaches could give lithium-sulfur batteries a leg up over lithium-ion July 1st, 2022
Efficiently processing high-quality periodic nanostructures with ultrafast laser July 1st, 2022
Photonic synapses with low power consumption and high sensitivity are expected to integrate sensing-memory-preprocessing capabilities July 1st, 2022
Tools
New technology helps reveal inner workings of human genome June 24th, 2022
Snapshot measurement of single nanostructure�s circular dichroism March 25th, 2022
Eyebrow-raising: Researchers reveal why nanowires stick to each other February 11th, 2022
JEOL Introduces New Scanning Electron Microscope with �Simple SEM� Automation and Live Elemental and 3D Analysis January 14th, 2022