Preparation of Ultrafine Supported Clusters for Electron Microscopy Studies

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper, we discuss the sintering/fragmentation behavior of novel oganometallic rhenium compounds (candidates as catalyst materials) under high energy electron beam irradiation. The technique used was quantitative electron microscopy based on high angle annular dark field (HAADF) imaging in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). Using this approach, we examine elastically-scattered electron intensity from graphite-supported rhenium clusters, and look for mass quantization. The emphasis in this article is not on the imaging technique, but on various sample preparation techniques, materials and synthesis issues of supports and of deposition of very small isolated clusters.