Advancing In-Situ TEM: From Photocatalysis to Temperature-Dependent Liquid and Electrochemical Studies

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) remains one of the most powerful characterization techniques for understanding materials at the nano- and atomic scale. However, conventional TEM is fundamentally limited by its high-vacuum environment, preventing direct observation of materials under realistic operating conditions. In-situ TEM technologies have transformed this capability by enabling controlled environmental conditions inside the microscope while preserving high spatial and temporal resolution. These advances now allow researchers to directly correlate structural, chemical, and functional changes in materials during operation, accelerating discoveries across energy, catalysis, and nanomaterials research.

In this presentation, an introduction to Protochips’ in-situ TEM solutions will be provided, highlighting Protochips’ decades of experience in MEMS technology and pioneering in-situ TEM systems. Protochips has developed complete end-to-end workflow solutions that enable both novice and expert users to more quickly and reliably load, validate, and collect data from their samples, while simultaneously increasing achievable performance and significantly decreasing time-to-results.

The presentation will also introduce two of Protochips’ latest MEMS-based in-situ TEM systems:

SOL for Atmosphere AX — a newly developed photoillumination module for environmental gas-cell TEM that enables controlled optical excitation of materials under high-pressure gaseous environments and elevated temperatures. Integrated fiber-optic illumination delivers tunable continuous and pulsed light directly to the sample region while maintaining full environmental TEM functionality, including controlled gas flow, vapor introduction, closed-loop heating, and mass spectrometry. This capability enables direct operando correlation between photon-driven reaction pathways and nanoscale structural evolution in photocatalytic, plasmonic, and optoelectronic materials. Initial studies on photoactive materials demonstrate how quantitative optical excitation under realistic reaction environments can provide new insights into photocatalytic mechanisms and material stability.

Triton AX — a temperature-dependent liquid and electrochemical in-situ TEM platform capable of simultaneous electrochemical testing and temperature control from -50 °C to 300 °C. This advancement enables experiments under previously inaccessible yet technologically relevant conditions. These capabilities allow researchers to investigate the influence of temperature on electrochemical kinetics, dendrite formation, corrosion propagation, nanomaterial synthesis, and battery behavior under realistic operating environments. Examples including temperature-dependent nucleation and growth phenomena, crystallization processes, and electrochemical reactions will be presented together with complementary diffraction and spectroscopy analyses.

By combining MEMS-based environmental control, advanced optical stimulation, broad temperature capabilities, and automated workflow solutions, modern in-situ TEM platforms are bridging the gap between nanoscale imaging and realistic material operation. These developments are opening new opportunities for quantitative operando studies in photocatalysis, energy storage, electrocatalysis, nanomaterials synthesis, and next-generation functional materials research.

Location

C015, Lab1