Unified transmission electron microscopy with the glovebox integrated system for investigating air-sensitive two-dimensional quantum materials

Public summary

* The current research focuses on water- and oxygen-sensitive two-dimensional materials with excellent physicochemical properties.

* A glovebox-integrated system was developed, which provides a new platform for investigating the structure and properties of water-sensitive two-dimensional materials.

* The glovebox-integrated system is ideal for characterizing transition metal dichalcogenides, two-dimensional dihalides, and other low-dimensional sensitive materials.

Abstract

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an indispensable tool for elucidating the intrinsic atomic structures of materials and provides deep insights into defect dynamics, phase transitions, and nanoscale structural details. While numerous intriguing physical properties have been revealed in recently discovered two-dimensional (2D) quantum materials, many exhibit significant sensitivity to water and oxygen under ambient conditions. This inherent instability complicates sample preparation for TEM analysis and hinders accurate property measurements. This review highlights recent technical advancements to preserve the intrinsic structures of water- and oxygen-sensitive 2D materials for atomic-scale characterizations. A critical development discussed in this review is implementing an inert gas-protected glovebox integrated system (GIS) designed specifically for TEM experiments. In addition, this review emphasizes air-sensitive materials such as 2D transition metal dichalcogenides, transition metal dihalides and trihalides, and low-dimensional magnetic materials, demonstrating breakthroughs in overcoming their environmental sensitivity. Furthermore, the progress in TEM characterization enabled by the GIS is analyzed to provide a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art methodologies in this rapidly advancing field.