X-ray Linear Dichroic Tomography of Crystallographic and Topological Defects

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Main Authors: Apseros, Andreas, Scagnoli, Valerio, Holler, Mirko, Guizar-Sicairos, Manuel, Gao, Zirui, Appel, Christian, Heyderman, Laura J., Donnelly, Claire, Ihli, Johannes
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Apseros, Andreas
Scagnoli, Valerio
Holler, Mirko
Guizar-Sicairos, Manuel
Gao, Zirui
Appel, Christian
Heyderman, Laura J.
Donnelly, Claire
Ihli, Johannes
author_facet Apseros, Andreas
Scagnoli, Valerio
Holler, Mirko
Guizar-Sicairos, Manuel
Gao, Zirui
Appel, Christian
Heyderman, Laura J.
Donnelly, Claire
Ihli, Johannes
contents The functionality of materials is determined by their composition and microstructure, that is, the distribution and orientation of crystalline grains, grain boundaries and the defects within them. The characterisation of the material's microstructure is therefore critical for materials applications such as catalysis, energy storage and buildings. Until now, characterization techniques that map the distribution of grains, their orientation, and the presence of defects have either been limited to surface investigations, to spatial resolutions of a few hundred nanometres, or to systems of thickness around one hundred nanometres, thus requiring destructive sample preparation for measurements and preventing the study of system-representative volumes or the investigation of materials under operational conditions. Here, we present X-ray linear dichroic orientation tomography, a quantitative, non-invasive technique that allows for an intra- and inter-granular characterisation of extended polycrystalline and amorphous materials in three dimensions (3D). We present the detailed characterisation of a polycrystalline sample of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), a key catalyst in the production of sulfuric acid. In addition to determining the nanoscale composition, we map the crystal orientation throughout the polycrystalline sample with 73 nm spatial resolution. We identify grains, as well as twist, tilt, and twin grain boundaries. We further observe the creation and annihilation of topological defects promoted by the presence of volume crystallographic defects in 3D. Our method's non-destructive and spectroscopic nature opens the door to in-operando combined chemical and microstructural investigations of functional materials, including energy and mechanical materials in existing industries, as well as quantum materials for future technologies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_10647
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle X-ray Linear Dichroic Tomography of Crystallographic and Topological Defects
Apseros, Andreas
Scagnoli, Valerio
Holler, Mirko
Guizar-Sicairos, Manuel
Gao, Zirui
Appel, Christian
Heyderman, Laura J.
Donnelly, Claire
Ihli, Johannes
Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
The functionality of materials is determined by their composition and microstructure, that is, the distribution and orientation of crystalline grains, grain boundaries and the defects within them. The characterisation of the material's microstructure is therefore critical for materials applications such as catalysis, energy storage and buildings. Until now, characterization techniques that map the distribution of grains, their orientation, and the presence of defects have either been limited to surface investigations, to spatial resolutions of a few hundred nanometres, or to systems of thickness around one hundred nanometres, thus requiring destructive sample preparation for measurements and preventing the study of system-representative volumes or the investigation of materials under operational conditions. Here, we present X-ray linear dichroic orientation tomography, a quantitative, non-invasive technique that allows for an intra- and inter-granular characterisation of extended polycrystalline and amorphous materials in three dimensions (3D). We present the detailed characterisation of a polycrystalline sample of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), a key catalyst in the production of sulfuric acid. In addition to determining the nanoscale composition, we map the crystal orientation throughout the polycrystalline sample with 73 nm spatial resolution. We identify grains, as well as twist, tilt, and twin grain boundaries. We further observe the creation and annihilation of topological defects promoted by the presence of volume crystallographic defects in 3D. Our method's non-destructive and spectroscopic nature opens the door to in-operando combined chemical and microstructural investigations of functional materials, including energy and mechanical materials in existing industries, as well as quantum materials for future technologies.
title X-ray Linear Dichroic Tomography of Crystallographic and Topological Defects
topic Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.10647