Structure Analysis of Functional Materials

Abstract

Structure design and material’s development heavily depend on structure characterizations, through which one can master the mechanisms that drive the special properties of a material. A deep understanding of the materials’ behaviors will feed back into their synthesis processes for optimizing the properties and improving performance. The fundamental analysis techniques introduced in Chapter 6 are the basis for precise and correct interpretation of experimental data. In this chapter, our aim is to apply these techniques for characterizing a variety of structures related to oxide functional materials. Details will be given for the analysis of grain boundaries, superstructures, and point defects, which are important for intelligent materials in particular. This chapter is integrated with the contents of Chapter 6 for illustrating the unique applications of TEM in promoting the development of functional materials.