A literature review of in situ transmission electron microscopy technique in corrosion studies

One of the biggest challenges in corrosion investigation is foreseeing precisely how and where materials will degenerate in a designated condition owing to scarceness of accurate corrosion mechanisms. Recent fast development of in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) technique makes it achievable to better understand the corrosion mechanism and physicochemical processes at the interfaces between samples and gases or electrolytes by dynamical capture the microstructural and chemical changes with high resolution within a realistic or near-realistic environment. However, a detailed and in-depth account summing up the development and latest achievements of in situ TEM techniques, especially the application of emerging liquid and electrochemical cells in the community of corrosion study in the last several years is lacking and is urgently needed for its heathy development. To fill this gap, this critical review summarizes firstly the key scientific issues in corrosion research, followed by introducing the configurations of several typical closed-type cells. Then, the achievements of in situ TEM using open-type or closed-type cells in corrosion study are presented in detail. The study directions in the future are commented finally in terms of spatial and temporal resolution, electron radiation, and linkage between microstructure and electrochemical performance in corrosion community.