High-Resolution Electron Microscopy Observation of Self-Assembled Materials by De-Hierarchization

Abstract

We developed sample preparation techniques for transmission electron microscopy that enable the observation of complex hierarchical structures formed by self-assembly of (macro)molecules, unraveling these structures at atomic or molecular-level resolution. We demonstrated that de-hierarchization approaches for the target materials, such as encapsulation of a single strand of polymer chains in a single-walled carbon nanotube and extraction of anisotropic structural components in liquid crystals through dilute solution dispersion, are effective for high-resolution observation by transmission electron microscopy.