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The Atomic Circus: Small Electron Beams Spotlight Advanced Materials Down to the Atomic Scale
Author(s) -
Wu Haijun,
Zhao Xiaoxu,
Guan Cao,
Zhao LiDong,
Wu Jiagang,
Song Dongsheng,
Li Changjian,
Wang John,
Loh Kian Ping,
Venkatesan Thirumalai V.,
Pennycook Stephen J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201802402
Subject(s) - materials science , atomic units , nanotechnology , scanning transmission electron microscopy , nanoscopic scale , piezoelectricity , engineering physics , scale (ratio) , electron , transmission electron microscopy , composite material , physics , quantum mechanics
Defects in crystalline materials have a tremendous impact on their functional behavior. Controlling and tuning of these imperfections can lead to marked improvements in their physical, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties. Thanks to the development of aberration‐corrected (scanning) transmission electron microscopy (STEM/TEM), direct visualization of defects at multiple length scales has now become possible, including those critically important defects at the atomic scale. Thorough understanding of the nature and dynamics of these defects is the key to unraveling the fundamental origins of structure–property relationships. Such insight can therefore allow the creation of new materials with desired properties through appropriate defect engineering. Herein, several examples of new insights obtained from representative functional materials are shown, including piezoelectrics/ferroelectrics, oxide interfaces, thermoelectrics, electrocatalysts, and 2D materials.