Nano-scale characterization of oxide materials

Oxygen vacancies are known to dominate the overall behavior of the bulk as well as at homo- and hetero-interfaces in oxide materials. In this report, the latest developments in analytical scanning transmission electron microscopy will be described that can be used to analyze the vacancy induced structure-property relationships in oxides, both at room and elevated temperatures. We will discuss the influence of vacancy ordering on ionic conductivity in bulk perovskite oxides. Further, the behavior of oxygen vacancies at grain-boundaries and at metal-oxide interfaces during in-situ reduction will be described. We will show that the combination of Z-contrast imaging, electron energy loss spectroscopy and in-situ reduction provides an experimental tool with unparalleled spatial resolution, energy resolution and chemical sensitivity to investigate the atomic scale vacancy dynamics in oxides.