Researchers measure single atoms in a graphene 'petri-dish'

Researchers working at The University of Manchester have shown new possibilities for observing nanomaterials in liquids by creating a graphene 'petri-dish'.

New 2-dimensional nanomaterials have the potential to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and provide enhanced performance in a broad range of applications including; better design of nanomaterials for batteries or understanding the degradation of battery materials in order to improve their performance.

The unique properties exhibited by 2-D materials could also lead to functional and antibacterial coatings, bioanalysis, and targeted drug delivery. However, the difficulty of controlling growth and degradation at the atomic scale is currently a hurdle to fully exploiting the potential of these exciting materials.

Scanning / transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM) is one of only few techniques that allows imaging and analysis of individual atoms. However, the S/TEM instrument requires a high vacuum to protect the electron source and to prevent electron scattering from molecular interactions.

Several high profile studies have previously revealed that the structure of functional materials at room temperature in a vacuum can significantly different from that in their normal liquid environment. This could be like trying to study the structure of a dehydrated prune to understand the structure of the original plum.

Publishing in Nano Letters, a research team led by Dr. Sarah Haigh and Dr. Roman Gorbachev at the National Graphene Institute and the School of Materials at The University of Manchester have shown that graphene and boron nitride can be combined to create a perfect nano petri-dish. Liquid samples inside the dish can be imaged with single atom sensitivity and it is also possible to measure their elemental composition atthenanometre length scale.