TY - JOUR A1 - Gonzalez-Martinez, I. A1 - Weinel, Kristina A1 - Feng, W. A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo A1 - Gemming, T. A1 - Büchner, B. T1 - Hybrid tungsten-carbon 2D nanostructures via in-situ gasification of carbon substrates driven by ebeam irradiation of WO2.9 microparticles N2 - Since the TEM has the capacity to observe the atomic structure of materials, in-situ TEM synthesis methods are uniquely suited to advance our fundamental understanding of the bottom-up dynamics that drive the formation of nanostructures. E-beam induced fragmentation (potentially identified as a manifestation of Coulomb explosion) and electron stimulated desorption (ESD) are phenomena that have received attention because they trigger chemical and physical reactions that can lead to the production of various nanostructures. Here we report a simple TEM protocol implemented on WO2.9 microparticles supported on thin amorphous carbon substrates. The method produces various nanostructures such as WC nanoparticles, WC supported films and others. Nevertheless, we focus on the gradual graphitization and gasification of the C substrate as it interacts with the material expelled from the WO2.9 microparticles. The progressive gasification transforms the substrate from amorphous C down to hybrid graphitic nanoribbons incorporating W nanoparticles. We think these observations open interesting possibilities for the synthesis of 2D nanomaterials in the TEM. KW - Transmission electron microscope (TEM) KW - in-situ synthesis KW - Tungsten carbide KW - Nanoribbons KW - Coulomb explosion PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/acf584 SN - 0957-4484 VL - 34 IS - 49 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - IOP Publishing AN - OPUS4-58279 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Feng, Wen A1 - Gemming, Thomas A1 - Giebeler, Lars A1 - Qu, Jiang A1 - Weinel, Kristina A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo A1 - Büchner, Bernd A1 - González-Martínez, Ignacio T1 - Influence of magnetic field on electron beam-induced Coulomb explosion of gold microparticles in transmission electron microscopy N2 - In this work we instigated the fragmentation of Au microparticles supported on a thin amorphous carbon film by irradiating them with a gradually convergent electron beam inside the Transmission Electron Microscope. This phenomenon has been generically labeled as “electron beam-induced fragmentation” or EBIF and its physical origin remains contested. On the one hand, EBIF has been primarily characterized as a consequence of beam-induced heating. On the other, EBIF has been attributed to beam-induced charging eventually leading to Coulomb explosion. To test the feasibility of the charging framework for EBIF, we instigated the fragmentation of Au particles under two different experimental conditions. First, with the magnetic objective lens of the microscope operating at full capacity, i.e. background magnetic field B = 2 T, and with the magnetic objective lens switched off (Lorenz mode), i.e. B = 0 T. We observe that the presence or absence of the magnetic field noticeably affects the critical current density at which EBIF occurs. This strongly suggests that magnetic field effects play a crucial role in instigating EBIF on the microparticles. The dependence of the value of the critical current density on the absence or presence of an ambient magnetic field cannot be accounted for by the beam-induced heating model. Consequently, this work presents robust experimental evidence suggesting that Coulomb explosion driven by electrostatic charging is the root cause of EBIF. KW - Electron beam-induced fragmentation KW - Coulomb explosion KW - X-ray diffraction KW - Lorenz transmission electron microscopy PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-600247 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2024.113978 SN - 1879-2723 VL - 262 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-60024 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weinel, Kristina A1 - Hahn, Marc Benjamin A1 - Lubk, Axel A1 - González Martínez, Ignacio Guillermo A1 - Büchner, Bernd A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo T1 - Nanoparticle Synthesis by Precursor Irradiation with Low-Energy Electrons N2 - Nanoparticles (NPs) and their fabrication routes are intensely studied for their wide range of application in optics, chemistry, and medicine. Γ-ray and ion irradiation of precursor matter are established methods that facilitate tailored NP synthesis without complicated chemistry. Here, we develop and explore NP synthesis based on irradiating precursor microparticles with low-energy electron beams. We specifically demonstrate the fabrication of plasmonic gold nanoparticles of sizes between 3 and 350 nm on an amorphous SiOx substrate using a 30 kV electron beam. By detailed comparison with electron scattering simulations and thermodynamic modeling, we reveal the dominant role of inelastic electron–matter interaction and subsequent localized heating for the observed vaporization of the precursor gold microparticles. This general principle suggests the suitability of electron-beam irradiation for synthesizing NPs of a wide class of materials. KW - Gold Nanoparticle KW - Scanning Electron Microscopy KW - In situ irradiation KW - Thermodynamic modelling KW - Heat Transfer PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-627609 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.4c06033 SN - 2574-0970 VL - 8 IS - 10 SP - 4980 EP - 4988 PB - ACS Publications CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-62760 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Feng, Wen A1 - Schulz, Johannes A1 - Wolf, Daniel A1 - Pylypenko, Sergii A1 - Gemming, Thomas A1 - Weinel, Kristina A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo A1 - Büchner, Bernd A1 - Lubk, Axel T1 - Secondary electron emission from gold microparticles in a transmission electron microscope: comparison of Monte Carlo simulations with experimental results N2 - We measure the electron beam-induced current to analyze the electron-induced secondary electron (SE) emission from micron-sized gold particles illuminated by 80 and 300 keV electrons in a transmission electron microscope. A direct comparison of the experimental and simulated SE emission (SEE) employing Monte Carlo scattering simulations based on the GEANT4 toolkit yields overall good agreement with a noticeable discrepancy arising from the shortcoming of the GEANT4 scattering cross sections in the low-loss regime. Thus, the electron beam-induced current analysis allows to quantify the inelastic scattering including SEE in the transmission electron microscope and provides further insight into the charging mechanisms. KW - Electron beam-induced current KW - Transmission electron microscopy KW - Secondary electron emission KW - Secondary electron yield KW - Gold micronoparticle PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-622557 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ad9840 VL - 58 IS - 8 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - IOP Publishing CY - Bristol, GB AN - OPUS4-62255 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weinel, Kristina A1 - Schultz, Johannes A1 - Kalady, Mohammed Fayis A1 - Wolf, Daniel A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo A1 - Lubk, Axel T1 - Fabrication of 2-dimensional disordered assemblies of gold nanoparticles and investigation of localized surface plasmon resonances N2 - Interaction of electromagnetic waves, such as electron beams or light, with conductive material can lead to localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) where the incoming energy can be deposited in a collective excitation of electrons of the conduction band, which in turn can result in coherent localized plasmon oscillations. LSPR in metallic nanostructures, such as nanoparticles (NPs), which are sensitive to geometry, material composition and environment, are currently utilized in a wide range of applications, such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, plasmonic wave guides, improved solar cells, on-chip particle accelerators and nanoantennas. A host of studies that focus on plasmonic NPs ranging from single NPs with several shapes (cubic, spherical, tetrahedral) over 1D assemblies of NPs such as chains, to ordered 2D assemblies of NPs show an increase of the complexity regarding the hybridization behavior of LSPRs eventually lead to delocalized Surface Plasmons. Furthermore, Anderson predicted in 1977 the absence of diffusion or delocalization of waves in disordered systems, which has been discussed as the underlying mechanism for LSPRs localization in disordered metallic thin films and ultrathin 2D networks. Our aim is to further develop these studies on the surface plasmon localization in disordered structures by (1) developing a novel NPs assembly fabrication method that allows fabricating disordered assemblies of NPs of a wide range of NPs sizes, and (2) probing the LSPR with high-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). Moreover, the dominant dipolar interaction between the NPs, also facilitates an efficient numerical modeling of these systems, which in comparison with the experiments allows for an in-depth study of the impact of various geometric parameters as well as retardation and life-time damping on the observed localization behavior. To synthesize 2D disordered assemblies of gold NPs on a TEM transparent silicon oxide substrate, a new synthesis routine was developed. This procedure is based on sublimation and redeposition of a gold microparticle precursor induced by an electron beam in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) operated at 30 kV. To characterize the assembly of synthesized NPs in terms of size, shape and spreading over the substrate, TEM measurements were conducted subsequently. To study LSPRs experimentally, EELS in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) mode was carried out. The numerical modelling of LSPRs was performed using a self-consistent dipole model. The synthesized 2D disordered gold NPs assemblies exhibit a gradient in the NPs mean size, which ranges from 100 nm close to the precursor location down to 2 nm at a distance of more than 20 µm from the precursor location. Additionally, the interparticle distance between the gold NPs increases with increasing distance to the precursor location. The experimental investigation as well as the numerical simulation of the LSPRs demonstrate a localization behavior that decreases toward larger energies, which is driven by the disorder of the NPs assembly (mainly the random particle distance). That localization behavior stays in contrast to what was found in ultrathin 2D gold networks showing increasing of localization towards higher LSPRs energies. By varying the geometric parameters of the NPs assembly in the simulation, we could identify the NPs thickness as the parameter, that determines the energy-dependence of the localization. Specifically, a critical thickness of approx. 10 nm separates the two localization regimes, which correlates to the energy of the dipole mode resonance crucially depending on the thickness of the NPs. 2D disordered assemblies of gold NPs of a wide range of NPs sizes and distances can be synthesized directly on thin substrates facilitating structural characterization and EELS measurements in a TEM. It could be shown that such assemblies exhibit LSPRs with a localization behavior that may be tuned by the NPs sizes (including thickness) and interparticle distances. The proposed synthesis of random NPs assemblies opens new avenues for fundamental studies on Anderson localization in disordered plasmonic structures as well as its applications such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy where localization behavior must be tuned to specific wave lengths. T2 - 17th European Microscopy Congress (EMC 2024) CY - Copenhagen, Denmark DA - 26.08.2024 KW - Scanning electron microscopy KW - Gold nanoparticle synthesis KW - Disordered assemblies KW - Localized surface plasmon resonances KW - Transmission electron microscopy PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-618330 DO - https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/202412932007 VL - 129 SP - 1 EP - 2 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis AN - OPUS4-61833 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fayis Kalady, Mohammed A1 - Schultz, Johannes A1 - Weinel, Kristina A1 - Wolf, Daniel A1 - Lubk, Axel T1 - Geometry-dependent localization of surface plasmons on random gold nanoparticle assemblies N2 - Assemblies of plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) support hybridized modes of localized surface plasmons (LSPs), which delocalize in geometrically well-ordered arrangements. Here, the hybridization behavior of LSPs in geometrically completely disordered two-dimensional arrangements of Au NPs fabricated by an e-beam synthesis method is studied. Employing electron energy loss spectroscopy in a scanning transmission electron microscope and numerical simulations, the disorder-driven spatial and spectral localization of the coupled LSP modes that depends on the NP thickness is revealed. Below a NP thickness of 0.4 nm, localization increases toward higher hybridized LSP mode energies. In comparison, above 10 nm thickness, a decrease of localization toward higher mode energies is observed. In the intermediate thickness regime, a transition of the energy dependence of the localization between the two limiting cases, exhibiting a mode energy with minimal localization, is observed. It is shown that this behavior is mainly driven by the energy and thickness dependence of the polarizability of the individual NPs. KW - Gold Nanoparticles KW - Surface plasmons KW - Electron enerdy loss spectroscopy (EELS) KW - scanning transmission electron microscopy PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-647230 DO - https://doi.org/10.1103/44nk-6bp2 SN - 2643-1564 VL - 7 IS - 043053 EP - 4 PB - American Physical Society AN - OPUS4-64723 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -