The Merits of Static and Dynamic High-Resolution Electron Microscopy (HREM) for the Study of Solid Catalysts

Within the last decade there have been major advances in the deployment of electron microscopy for the elucidation of solid catalysts. Some of these have been technical (instrumental), like the arrival of aberration-corrected lenses and of new kinds of in situ stages for solid-gas and solid-liquid studies. Others have been largely conceptual, such as precession electron diffraction, to provide diffraction intensities suitable for crystallographic studies, or like the revolutionary approach of Zewail and colleagues in using 4D electron microscopy which, with its ability to reach picometer spatial resolution coupled with femtosecond time resolution, augurs well for future studies. Many major advances registered within the past few years are highlighted in this article and along with their significance.