TY  - JOUR
AU  - Ummethala, Govind
AU  - Jada, Ravi
AU  - Dutta-Gupta, Shourya
AU  - Park, Junbeom
AU  - Tavabi, Amir H.
AU  - Basak, Shibabrata
AU  - Hooley, Robert
AU  - Sun, Hongyu
AU  - Pérez Garza, H. Hugo
AU  - Eichel, Rüdiger-A
AU  - Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E.
AU  - Malladi, Sai Rama Krishna
TI  - Real-time visualisation of fast nanoscale processes during liquid reagent mixing by liquid cell transmission electron microscopy
JO  - Communications chemistry
VL  - 8
IS  - 1
SN  - 2399-3669
PB  - Springer Nature
M1  - FZJ-2025-04495
SP  - 8
PY  - 2025
AB  - Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM) is a powerful technique for investigating crystallisation dynamics with nanometre spatial resolution. However, probing phenomena occurring in liquids while mixing two precursor solutions has proven extremely challenging, requiring sophisticated liquid cell designs. Here, we demonstrate that introducing and withdrawing solvents in sequence makes it possible to maintain optimal imaging conditions while mixing liquids in a commercial liquid cell. We succeeded in visualising a fast nanoscale crystallisation mechanism when an organic molecule of R-BINOL-CN dissolved in chloroform interacts with methanol. The scanning transmission electron microscopy images recorded in real-time during the interaction of the two volatile solvents reveal the formation of chain-like structures of R-BINOL-CN particles, whereas they coalesce to form single large particles when methanol is absent. Our approach of mixing liquids establishes a platform for novel LCTEM studies of a wide range of electron-beam-sensitive materials, including drug molecules, polymers and molecular amphiphiles.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
DO  - DOI:10.1038/s42004-025-01407-3
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/1048103
ER  -