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Updated: May 3, 2026

Energy Dispersive X-ray Tomography for 3D Elemental Mapping of Individual Nanoparticles
Published on: July 5, 2016
Atomic-scale chemical imaging and quantification of metallic alloy structures by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
Ping Lu1, Lin Zhou2, M J Kramer2
1Sandia National Laboratories, PO Box 5800, MS 1411, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1411 USA.
Abstract:
Determination of atomic-scale crystal structure for nanostructured intermetallic alloys, such as magnetic alloys containing Al, Ni, Co (alnico) and Fe, is crucial for understanding physical properties such as magnetism, but technically challenging due to the small interatomic distances and the similar atomic numbers. By applying energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping to the study of two intermetallic phases of an alnico alloy resulting from spinodal decomposition, we have determined atomic-scale chemical composition at individual lattice sites for the two phases: one is the B2 phase with Fe0.76Co0.24 -Fe0.40Co0.60 ordering and the other is the L2(1) phase with Ni0.48Co0.52 at A-sites, Al at B(Ι)-sites and Fe0.20Ti0.80 at B(ΙΙ)-sites, respectively. The technique developed through this study represents a powerful real-space approach to investigate structure chemically at the atomic scale for a wide range of materials systems.
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