A brand new low-damage imaging approach developed on the Japan Superior Institute of Science and Know-how (JAIST) is opening the door to detailed evaluation of fragile nanomaterials for the primary time.
A brand new low-damage imaging approach developed on the Japan Superior Institute of Science and Know-how (JAIST) is opening the door to detailed evaluation of fragile nanomaterials for the primary time.
Nanomaterials have gotten important to trendy expertise—powering batteries, enhancing clear vitality methods, and enabling extra environment friendly catalysts. Their distinctive benefits usually stem from the exact association of atoms inside them. But, regardless of their crucial function, the smallest constructing blocks of those supplies have usually remained elusive, largely as a result of conventional imaging methods depend on sturdy electron beams that may injury these delicate buildings.
To beat this problem, researchers at JAIST mixed high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) with data-driven lattice correlation evaluation, efficiently mapping the three-dimensional atomic construction of titanium oxyhydroxide nanoparticles—a category of supplies valued for his or her roles in vitality gadgets and superior catalysts.
The research, led by Professor Yoshifumi Oshima together with Senior Lecturer Kohei Aso, Senior Technical Specialist Koichi Higashimine, Former Senior Lecturer Masanobu Miyata, and Dr. Hiroshi Kamio from Nippon Metal, was revealed in Communications Chemistry on April 28th, 2025.
One of many standout options of this new approach is how successfully it protects fragile nanomaterials throughout imaging. Conventional electron microscopy usually damages delicate samples, reminiscent of titanium oxyhydroxides, earlier than they are often correctly analyzed.
By lowering electron publicity by 20 to 500 occasions in comparison with standard strategies, the JAIST crew achieved high-resolution imaging with out the chance of beam-induced injury.
Controlling the crystal buildings of metallic oxyhydroxides is the important thing for his or her purposes, however that is usually restricted by the difficulties of analyzing these beam-sensitive nanomaterials. However our technique permits a safer strategy for structural evaluation, permitting researchers to grasp and management their properties successfully.
Kohei Aso, Senior Lecturer, Japan Superior Institute of Science and Know-how
Utilizing this system, the crew made an vital discovery about metatitanic acid (H2TiO3), a titanium-based materials broadly utilized in catalytic and vitality purposes.
Their evaluation revealed that metatitanic acid options an alternating layered construction composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and titanium hydroxide (Ti(OH)4)—a construction strikingly just like anatase, a naturally occurring type of titanium dioxide identified for its distinctive optical and digital properties.
The placing structural resemblance between metatitanic acid and anatase vividly explains why metatitanic acid is a broadly favored precursor for the synthesis of the anatase part of TiO2.
Kohei Aso, Senior Lecturer, Japan Superior Institute of Science and Know-how
This discovery may pave the best way for designing supplies with improved efficiency, whether or not it’s enhancing chemical reactions in catalysts or boosting effectivity in batteries and sensors.
Whereas the crew’s work focuses on titanium oxyhydroxide, the implications go a lot additional. Many superior nanomaterials utilized in right now’s cutting-edge applied sciences are simply as susceptible to electron beam injury. The tactic developed at JAIST might be a game-changer for analyzing and bettering a variety of supplies essential for clear vitality, electronics, and sustainable applied sciences.
Past experimental developments, the analysis highlights the rising synergy between experimental and computational approaches in supplies science.
Wanting forward, the crew envisions their lattice correlation evaluation turning into a key software for data-driven supplies design, serving to to speed up the event of next-generation, high-performance gadgets.
Journal Reference:
Aso, Ok., et al. (2025) Three-dimensional atomic-scale characterization of titanium oxyhydroxide nanoparticles by data-driven lattice correlation evaluation. Communications Chemistry. doi.org/10.1038/s42004-025-01513-2.
