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Science 5 June 2009:
Vol. 324. no. 5932, pp. 1276 - 1277
DOI: 10.1126/science.1174666
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Perspectives

Materials Science:

Watching Nanocrystals Grow

Christopher B. Murray

The ability to observe individual chemical reactions in real time is reshaping our understanding of molecular processes, revealing subtleties previously hidden in ensemble averages. For example, single-molecule fluorescence detection methods have revolutionized optical microscopy and in situ studies of chemical and biological systems (1). Liquid cell in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is poised to write a new chapter in the solution synthesis and processing of materials. On page 1309 of this issue, Zheng et al. use a TEM liquid cell that allows liquids to be examined within the vacuum environment of a TEM in an elegant experiment that uncovers dynamic processes in the growth of platinum (Pt) nanocrystals (2).

Department of Chemistry and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

E-mail: cbmurray{at}sas.upenn.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)