Understanding the Electron Beam Resilience of Two-Dimensional Conjugated Metal-Organic Frameworks

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Knowledge of the atomic structure of layer-stacked two-dimensional conjugated metal-organic frameworks (2D c-MOFs) is an essential prerequisite for establishing their structure-property correlation. For this, atomic resolution imaging is often the method of choice. In this paper, we gain a better understanding of the main properties contributing to the electron beam resilience and the achievable resolution in the high-resolution TEM images of 2D c-MOFs, which include chemical composition, density, and conductivity of the c-MOF structures. As a result, sub-angstrom resolution of 0.95 Å has been achieved for the most stable 2D c-MOF of the considered structures, Cu3(BHT) (BHT = benzenehexathiol), at an accelerating voltage of 80 kV in a spherical and chromatic aberration-corrected TEM. Complex damage mechanisms induced in Cu3(BHT) by the elastic interactions with the e-beam have been explained using detailed ab initio molecular dynamics calculations. Experimental and calculated knock-on damage thresholds are in good agreement.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3014-3020
Number of pages7
JournalNano letters
Volume24(2024)
Issue number10
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 38427697

Keywords

Keywords

  • ab initio molecular dynamics, beam damage, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, metal organic frameworks, structural tailoring