ChemiTEM – an easy to use TEM for chemistry and material science

Analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has become a widely implemented technique in a modern catalysis research institute. TEM is a key technique for the investigation of local elemental compositions, surfaces and atomic interfaces, which are crucial for catalytic performance. However, usually TEM specialists perform the necessary tasks for a thorough study of the materials of interest. The ChemiTEM project aims to generate standard procedures and workflows optimized for non-expert TEM users for applications in material synthesis and chemistry. By investigating 40 samples of the Fritz-Haber-Institut and its collaboration partners we collected the relevant questions and developed standardized workflows and guiding tools for sample preparation and investigation. These workflows were implemented into a tablet app enabling non-expert TEM users to perform even applications they have no previous experience with by guiding them through the whole decision process. The app also includes a workflow for data analysis. I will present the current status of the ChemiTEM project, its future developments, and other related research of our group at MPI-CEC.