Structure & composition of materials at the nanoscale
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The Department of Materials of the C2N has a long-standing and internationally recognized expertise in the analysis of the structure and chemical composition of materials using a variety of transmission electron microscopy techniques. The department possesses a state of the art platform () for the analysis of materials at subnametric scales, that includes provides acces to two abberation-corrected TEM/STEM microscopes and both ion polishing and FIB equipment for the preparation of TEM lamellas. The team carries out both research on the microstructure of a wide variety of materials of interest to the department, the laboratory, and, more broadly, partners in academia and the industry, as well as on the development of new characterization techniques that rely on electron micrsocpy. A non-exhaustive list of current research topics in the team includes:
- 0D, 1D, and 2D semiconductor nanostructures of III-V, II-VI, and IV semiconductors
- Colloidal quantum dots
- Metal-organic frameworks
- Heritage materials and their manufacturing processes
- Precession electron tomography
- Atomic-scale, quantitative chemical mappings from the quantification of HAADF-STEM
HAADF-STEM image and EDX elemental mappings of core-shell II-VI colloidal quantum dots. By localizing the position of each atomic columns in the particle one can extract the exact deformation of the quantum dot. Collaboration with ESPCI/Nexdot.
EDX elementary maps of a precipitate in Egyptian Blue. The study of impurities and precipitates present in the pigment crystals provides information on the origins of the minerals used for the synthesis of the pigment as well as the synthesis techniques used (temperature, annealing time,…). 
EDX elementary maps of a precipitate in Egyptian Blue. Atomically-resolved HAADF-STEM image of a type MIL-177-LT MOF particle, observed along the <0001> zone axis; copper particles are affixed to the facets of the MOF particle - Collaboration with IMAP/ENS. 
HAADF-STEM image of core/shell cyclodextrin MODs and EDX mappings of their differnet components. Mappings reveal that silver nanoparticles adhere to the MOF shell - Collaboration with IMAP/ENS. 
Chinese blue pigment, recovered from a faience and prepared for STEM observation. New insights into the production of Chinese blue pigment by TEM/STEM Collaboration with Laboratoire d’Archéologie Moléculaire et Structurale (Sorbonne Université) and Department of Materials Science and Engineering (UCLA)