Atom probe specimen preparation methods for nanoparticles

Revealing the position of materials with chemical selectivity at atomic scale within functional nanoparticles is essential to understand and control their performance and cutting-edge atom probe tomography is a powerful tool to undertake this task. In this paper, we demonstrate three effective methods to prepare the needle-shaped specimens required for atom probe tomography measurements from nanoparticles of different sizes and provide examples of how atom probe can be used to provide data that is critical to their functionality. Samples measured include lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) cathode nanoparticles (300 - 500 nm), nickel-doped silicon dioxide (Ni@SiO₂) catalytic nanoparticles (100 - 200 nm) and tin-doped copper (Sn@Cu) catalytic nanoparticles (<100 nm). The methods presented can be used to address the ongoing challenge of specimen preparation from particle samples for atom probe measurement, and they provide high quality data. These methods will broaden the application of atom probe tomography and will provide alternative option for researchers to assess the performance/structure of their functional nanomaterials.