CHICAGO, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Researchers now can better understand how nanomaterials grow, form and evolve with a new technique called variable temperature liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy (VT-LPTEM).

Developed by a multidisciplinary team at Northwestern University (NU) and the University of Tennessee, the new technique allows researchers to investigate these dynamic, sensitive materials with high resolution.

In the work, the researchers studied metal-organic nanotubes (MONTs), a subclass of metal-organic frameworks. MONTs have high potential for use as nanowires in miniature electronic devices, nanoscale lasers, semiconductors and sensors for detecting cancer biomarkers and virus particles.

With the aid of LPTEM, the researchers watched MONTs form for the first time and made the first measurements of finite bundles of MONTs on the nanometer scale.

MONTs, however, are little explored because the key to unlocking their potential lies in understanding how they are formed.

"Until now, we could only look at 'dead,' static materials," said Nathan Gianneschi, a professor of chemistry in NU Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and associate director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology who co-led the study. "This new technique allows us to examine dynamics directly, something that could not be done before."

"We think LPTEM could do for nanoscience what live-cell light microscopy has done for biology," Gianneschi added.

LPTEM allows researchers to mix components and perform chemical reactions while watching them unfold beneath a transmission electron microscope, which has provided a critical insight into the nature and behavior of cells and tissues.

The research was published online this week in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Enditem

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