Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 23, 2025
Author Spotlight: Exploring Cellular Processes by Modeling Ligands in Cryo-EM Maps
Published on: July 19, 2024
Dynamics of chemical bonding mapped by energy-resolved 4D electron microscopy
Fabrizio Carbone1, Oh-Hoon Kwon, Ahmed H Zewail
1Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Abstract:
Chemical bonding dynamics are fundamental to the understanding of properties and behavior of materials and molecules. Here, we demonstrate the potential of time-resolved, femtosecond electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) for mapping electronic structural changes in the course of nuclear motions. For graphite, it is found that changes of milli-electron volts in the energy range of up to 50 electron volts reveal the compression and expansion of layers on the subpicometer scale (for surface and bulk atoms). These nonequilibrium structural features are correlated with the direction of change from sp2 [two-dimensional (2D) graphene] to sp3 (3D-diamond) electronic hybridization, and the results are compared with theoretical charge-density calculations. The reported femtosecond time resolution of four-dimensional (4D) electron microscopy represents an advance of 10 orders of magnitude over that of conventional EELS methods.
Related Concept Videos
02:40Chemical Bonds
Atoms participate in a chemical bond formation to acquire a completed valence-shell electron configuration similar to that of the noble gas nearest to it in atomic number. Ionic, covalent, and metallic bonds are some of the important types of chemical bonds. Bond energy and bond length determine the strength of a chemical bond.
Types of Chemical Bonds
An ionic bond is formed due to electrostatic attraction between cations and anions. Often, the ions are formed by the transfer of electrons...
01:27π Electron Effects on Chemical Shift: Overview
02:13Bond Dissociation Energy and Activation Energy
02:32Bonding in Metals
01:01Introduction to Chemical Bonds
The electrons of the outermost energy level determine the energetic stability of the atom and its tendency to form chemical bonds with other atoms. The innermost electron shell has a maximum capacity of two electrons, but the next two electron shells can each have a maximum of eight electrons. This is known as the octet rule, which states that, with the exception of the innermost shell, atoms are most stable energetically when they have eight electrons in their valence shell, the...
02:58Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...