Chemical Imaging at Atomic Resolution To Refine the Local Structure of Nanocrystals

Ce₂Zr₂O₈ nanocrystals are characterized by aberration-corrected electron microscopy, core-loss electron energy-loss spectroscopy, and simulations. Direct chemical evidence of an ordered cation sublattice in nanosized (20–30 nm) crystallites is found for the first time. Local deviations in the chemical composition are also detected, with Zr occupying Ce sites (see scheme). (S. Trasobares et al., Angw. Chem. (2011))