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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Microcrystal Electron Diffraction of Small Molecules
Published on: March 15, 2021
Diffraction patterns of artificial two-dimensional crystals synthesized in situ in an environmental scanning
W F van Dorp1, B van Someren, C W Hagen
1Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
In this study, we demonstrated the use of electron-beam-induced deposition for synthesis of artificial two-dimensional crystals with an in situ scanning transmission electron microscope. The structures were deposited from W(CO)6 in an environmental scanning transmission electron microscope on a 30-nm-thick Si3N4 substrate. We present clear electron beam diffraction patterns taken from those structures. The distance between the diffraction peaks corresponded to the dot spacing in the self-made surface crystal. We propose using these arrays of dots as anchor points for making artificial crystals for diffraction analysis of weakly scattering or beam-sensitive molecules such as proteins.
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