1. Determining the radial distribution function of water using electron scattering: A key to solution phase chemistry.
- Author
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de Kock, M. B., Azim, S., Kassier, G. H., and Miller, R. J. D.
- Subjects
RADIAL distribution function ,ELECTRON scattering ,WATER distribution ,SOLUTION (Chemistry) ,WATER use ,SILICON solar cells - Abstract
High energy electron scattering of liquid water (H
2 O) at near-ambient temperature and pressure was performed in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) to determine the radial distribution of water, which provides information on intra- and intermolecular spatial correlations. A recently developed environmental liquid cell enables formation of a stable water layer, the thickness of which is readily controlled by pressure and flow rate adjustments of a humid air stream passing between two silicon nitride (Si3 N4 ) membranes. The analysis of the scattering data is adapted from the x-ray methodology to account for multiple scattering in the H2 O:Si3 N4 sandwich layer. For the H2 O layer, we obtain oxygen–oxygen (O–O) and oxygen–hydrogen (O–H) peaks at 2.84 Å and 1.83 Å, respectively, in good agreement with values in the literature. This demonstrates the potential of our approach toward future studies of water-based physics and chemistry in TEMs or electron probes of structural dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2020
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