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Seeing structural evolution of organic molecular nano-crystallites using 4D scanning confocal electron diffraction (4D-SCED)

Author

Listed:
  • Mingjian Wu

    (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

  • Christina Harreiß

    (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

  • Colin Ophus

    (National Center for Electron Microscopy, Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

  • Manuel Johnson

    (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

  • Rainer H. Fink

    (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

  • Erdmann Spiecker

    (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

Abstract

Direct observation of organic molecular nanocrystals and their evolution using electron microscopy is extremely challenging, due to their radiation sensitivity and complex structure. Here, we introduce 4D-scanning confocal electron diffraction (4D-SCED), which enables direct in situ observation of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) thin films. 4D-SCED combines confocal electron optic setup with a pixelated detector to record focused spot-like diffraction patterns with high angular resolution, using an order of magnitude lower dose than previous methods. We apply it to study an active layer in organic solar cells, namely DRCN5T:PC71BM BHJ thin films. Structural details of DRCN5T nano-crystallites oriented both in- and out-of-plane are imaged at ~5 nm resolution and dose budget of ~5 e−/Å2. We use in situ annealing to observe the growth of the donor crystals, evolution of the crystal orientation, and progressive enrichment of PC71BM at interfaces. This highly dose-efficient method opens more possibilities for studying beam sensitive soft materials.

Suggested Citation

  • Mingjian Wu & Christina Harreiß & Colin Ophus & Manuel Johnson & Rainer H. Fink & Erdmann Spiecker, 2022. "Seeing structural evolution of organic molecular nano-crystallites using 4D scanning confocal electron diffraction (4D-SCED)," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-30413-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30413-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Thomas C. Pekin & Jun Ding & Christoph Gammer & Burak Ozdol & Colin Ophus & Mark Asta & Robert O. Ritchie & Andrew M. Minor, 2019. "Direct measurement of nanostructural change during in situ deformation of a bulk metallic glass," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-7, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yang-Yang Zhou & Yu-Chun Xu & Ze-Fan Yao & Jia-Ye Li & Chen-Kai Pan & Yang Lu & Chi-Yuan Yang & Li Ding & Bu-Fan Xiao & Xin-Yi Wang & Yu Shao & Wen-Bin Zhang & Jie-Yu Wang & Huan Wang & Jian Pei, 2023. "Visualizing the multi-level assembly structures of conjugated molecular systems with chain-length dependent behavior," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.

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