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Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) nanotubes complement the field of low‐dimensional materials with their quasi‐1D morphology and a wide set of intriguing properties. By introducing different transition metals into the crystal structure, their properties can be tailored for specific purpose and applications. Herein, the characterization and a subsequent preparation of single‐nanotube field emission devices of MoxWx‐1S2 nanotubes prepared via the chemical vapor transport reaction is presented. Energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction indicate that the molybdenum and tungsten atoms are randomly distributed within the crystal structure and that the material is highly crystalline. High resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction (ED) patterns further corroborate these findings. A detailed analysis of the ED patterns from an eight‐layer nanotube reveal that the nanotubes grow in the 2H structure, with each shell consists of one bilayer. The work function of the nanotubes is comparable to that of pure MoS2 and lower of pure WS2 NTs, making them ideal candidates for field emission applications. Two devices with different geometrical setup are prepared and tested as field emitters, showing promising results for single nanotube field emission applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the mechanisms that connect heat and electron transport with crystal structures and defect chemistry is fundamental to develop materials with thermoelectric properties. In this work, we synthesized a series of self‐doped compounds Cu2+xMn1−xGeS4 through Cu for Mn substitution. Using a combination of powder X‐ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and precession‐assisted electron diffraction tomography, we evidence that the materials are composed of interconnected enargite‐ and stannite‐type structures, via the formation of nanodomains with a high density of coherent interfaces. By combining experiments with ab initio electron and phonon calculations, we discuss the structure–thermoelectric properties relationships and clarify the interesting crystal chemistry in this system. We demonstrate that excess Cu+ substituted for Mn2+ dopes holes into the top of the valence band, leading to a remarkable enhancement of the power factor and figure of merit ZT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a sample with nominal composition BiCr2S5 a new misfit layer compound has been synthesized and studied via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It presents a composite modulated structure with a composition that can be formulated as (BiS)1.19[(CrS2)‐Bi1/3‐(CrS2)]. It consists of the periodic stacking of a Q layer (BiS) with two H layers (CrS2), ...QHHQHH..., with additional bismuth atoms inserted between the H layers. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns show an almost commensurate fit between the pseudo‐tetragonal Q (BiS) and the pseudo‐orthohexagonal H (Bi1/3Cr2S4) subcells along the misfit direction a, being b the same for both sublattices and c the layers stacking direction. In addition to the characteristic misfit modulation between the two sub‐structures, a second modulation is observed in the H sub‐structure produced by the ordering of bismuth atoms within the Van der Waals gap that occurs between consecutive H layers. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images show ordered stacking sequences between the (BiS) and (Bi1/3Cr2S4) layers. Besides, disordered intergrowths have been occasionally found as well as different kinds of twinning defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, graphene nanoplatelets have been synthesized using liquid phase exfoliation of graphite flake powder. The exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets were identified and characterized by using UV–Visible–NIR spectroscopy, High resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction. The obtained graphene nanoplatelets and nano alumina at various weight ratios were dispersed in an epoxy matrix to enhance the surface roughness (Ra), micro hardness (Hv) and coefficient of friction (CoF) of epoxy hybrid nanocomposites. The results showed that the Ra and CoF value for the combined loading of 0.2 wt% of graphene nanoplatelets and 0.8 wt% of alumina into the epoxy was decreased to 41.02 and 20.01% whereas, the Hv value was increased to 10.04% when compared with the neat epoxy. The improved mechanical and tribological behaviors are suitable for the applications bearing and coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The LiRh‐type crystal structure of the equiatomic intermetallic compound IrZn turns out to be a competitor to the otherwise energetically favored CsCl‐type structures of congeneric transition metal zinc phases, thus enlightening the structural impact of element‐specific factors beyond the Hume‐Rothery concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bragg's second law, which deserves to be more widely known, is recounted. The significance of Bragg's law in electron diffraction and microscopy is then discussed, with particular emphasis on differences between X-ray and electron diffraction. As an example of such differences, the critical voltage effect in electron diffraction is described. It is then shown that the lattice imaging of crystals in high-resolution electron microscopy directly reveals the Bragg planes used for the imaging process, exactly as visualized by Bragg in his real-space law. Finally, it is shown how in 2012, for the first time, on the centennial anniversary of Bragg's law, single atoms have been identified in an electron microscope using X-rays emitted from the specimen. Hence atomic resolution X-ray maps of a crystal in real space can be formed which give the positions and identities of the different atoms in the crystal, or of a single impurity atom in the crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural investigations of fullerite films were performed using high-resolution electron microscopy, electron diffraction and electron energy loss spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In particular defects such as dislocations, stacking faults and twins were studied in details. It was shown that fullerite films could be characterized by a face-centered cubic (f.c.c.) structure with lattice parameter a = 1.416 nm. They are distinguished for their rich polytypic structure that is caused by breaking of alteration of closely packed planes of (111) type. The quantitative method based on information theory using the 'run-length encoding' algorithm was suggested to evaluate the degree of disorder in the f.c.c structure of thin fullerite films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of different dopant cations on the phase transformations of the initially stabilized supersaturated tetragonal ZrO2 phase during various heat treatments has been studied. The obtained fraction of monoclinic grains develop twinned structures, but there is still a lack of information about the character of grain boundaries formed in doped monoclinic solid solutions. The inspection of particular selected-area electron diffraction patterns provides an alternative method with respect to high-resolution electron microscopy or electron back-scattered diffraction for characterizing different twin junctions in various doped zirconia systems. The classification of these special twins is based on the coincidence site lattice concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modulated structure of Ag2SnO3. Disilver tin trioxide, was investigated by high-resolution electron microscopy and electron diffraction along four different directions. Electron diffraction showed an incommensurate one-dimensional modulated structure with a modulation wavevector of 1/6.4a*. High-resolution images showed a large number of superstructure domains with the size range 10-100 nm and orientations related by hexagonal rotation. The modulation was determined to be displacements along the c axis of the Ag atoms both in octahedral and linear coordination. An approximate structure model with a commensurate sixfold superstructure, with an orthorhombic cell (P212121, a = 2.922, b = 1.267, c = 0.562 nm), is proposed. Calculated images and electron diffraction patterns, based on this model, agree well with experimental observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]