Electron diffraction and HRTEM imaging of beam-sensitive materials

The high-resolution transmission electron microscopic investigation of electron beam-sensitive materials is a challenging research field. Applying a low-temperature specimen holder can reduce the sample damage rate. However, both the specimen holder and the running costs are expensive. Alternatively, it has been found that some treatments are helpful to overcome the beam damage problem of operating transmission electron microscope at room temperature. In this article, we review some typical examples of electron diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopic imaging of beam-sensitive specimens carried out at St Andrews University and in other institutions. The samples in question include C60/trimethylbenzene nanowires, zeolites, metal organic frameworks, etc. These developed techniques can certainly be used for many other beam-sensitive materials.