Elevated temperatures are an essential requirement for many research processes such as overcoming activation energy for materials synthesis and speeding up slow or sluggish kinetics. Consequently, the ability to heat and control temperature is essential component when replicating benchtop conditions during in situ TEM studies.
Protochips’ Poseidon AX in situ system transforms the TEM into a real-time nanoscale laboratory, safely encapsulating a liquid environment within the TEM between electrons transparent, silicon nitride windows. Additionally, integrating temperatures is possible up to 100 °C through the addition of an optional heating package. The liquid-heating capability is built into our E-chip design using our patented FrameHeaterTM technology. An integrated heating coil is embedded in the E-chip and provides uniform heating of the liquid layer, and easy-to-use software allows you to set temperatures from room temperature to RT to 100 °C and thermal ramp rates up to 10 °C/second.
In the example shown below, a thermos-responsive microgel was studied using the Protochips Poseidon system by researchers at Utrecht University, enabling real-time characterization of temperature dependent structural changes. A solution of gold-coated poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) particles was cycled between 20 °C and 40 °C resulting in a characteristic, reversible change in size of the particles.
