Frontiers of in-situ materials characterization - from new instrumentation and methods to imaging aided materials design

In-situ and operando techniques are promising to study materials under relevant conditions. Among them, transmission electron microscopy provides a platform to directly visualize changes down to the atomic scale by controlling the external stimuli (e.g. temperature or environment (gas and liquids)).

Scope:

The study of dynamic processes of materials and devices is a topic of high interest in materials science. The possibility to manipulate the electronic band structure, magnetic spin and catalytic properties of such materials opens a plethora of new applications. The nature of these material’s dynamics requires operando microscopy techniques to characterize their physical properties while simultaneously measuring their functional performance. Recent technological and computational advances in transmission electron microscopy are transforming what dynamic material science processes and phase changes can be explored. The focus of this symposium is on the application of in-situ/operando TEM techniques that include heating, biasing, cooling, environmental control (gas and liquid), magnetic fields and mechanical testing to induce and probe phase transitions in functional materials and devices at the nanoscale that, in synergy with other correlative techniques (as those based on synchrotron light), or theoretical methods, such as first-principles calculations, phase-field, micromagnetics, finite-element based modelling and simulations, help unravel the structure and properties of materials down to the atomic scale. Furthermore, as data collection, analysis and recording of dynamic information is becoming increasingly demanding, we also welcome contributions in computer-aided image analysis and big data processing, including based on artificial intelligence algorithms (machine and deep learning, neural networks, etc), to understand the fundamental physics governing the nano- to atomic-scale phase transitions of functional materials and devices. This symposium will cover recent advances of in situ imaging techniques and highlight progress in materials design, synthesis, and engineering in catalysts and devices aided by insights gained from the state-of-the-art real-time materials characterization.

Hot topics to be covered by the symposium:

• Phase transitions and dynamic process
• In-situ and operando TEM (e.g. heating, cooling, ion irradiation, mechanical testing)
• Advancements in in-situ holders (eg. cryogenic, vacuum transfer)
• Sample preparation techniques for in-situ/operando
• Combination with advanced TEM techniques (phase related, spectroscopy, 4D-STEM)
• Synergies with theoretical methods and data science
• Computer-aided image analysis (ML, DL, ANN, for EM) for quantitative studies
• Controlled electron-beam-induced transitions
• New instruments for in-situ imaging
• Full cell design for in-situ imaging of fuel cell and battery materials
• Ultrafast process of materials science
• Probing changes in electronic structures and magnetic states