Journal
NANO LETTERS
Volume 21, Issue 2, Pages 1141-1149Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c04636
Keywords
Liquid-Phase TEM; Radical Scavengers; TEM; Polymers; Gold Nanoparticles
Categories
Funding
- DoD through the ARO [W911NF-17-1-0326]
- NSF [CHE-MSN 1905270]
- Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF) [ECCS-1542205]
- MRSEC program at the Materials Research Center [NSF DMR1720139]
- International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN)
- Keck Foundation
- State of Illinois, through the IIN
- Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource [NSF ECCS-1542205]
- State of Illinois
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In the study, the radiolytic environment experienced by a polymer in water during LCTEM was examined, showing the significant mitigation effect of IPA on polymer damage and the enhancement effect of GNPs. The combination of experiments and simulations provided a generalizable strategy for assessing radiolysis mitigation or enhancement. The study highlights the caution needed for LCTEM experiments involving inorganic nanoparticles and suggests an increased use of scavengers for various LCTEM studies.
In this work, we describe the radiolytic environment experienced by a polymer in water during liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM). We examined the radiolytic environment of aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, 2400 g/mol) in the presence of sensitizing gold nano-particles (GNPs, 100 nm) or radical scavenging isopropanol (IPA). To quantify polymer damage, we employed post-mortem analysis via matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS). This approach confirms IPA (1-10% w/v) can significantly mitigate radiolysis-induced damage to polymers in water, while GNPs significantly enhance damage. We couple LCTEM experiments with simulations to provide a generalizable strategy for assessing radiolysis mitigation or enhancement. This study highlights the caution required for LCTEM experiments on inorganic nanoparticles where solution phase properties of surrounding organic materials or the solvent itself are under investigation. Furthermore, we anticipate an increased use of scavengers for LCTEM studies of all kinds.
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