Short Description
The transmission electron microscope (TEM), which is equipped with a cold FEG electron source (energy dispersion of 0.3 eV), can image both inorganic and organic sample structures down to the sub-nanometer range (TEM: 0.08 nm & STEM 0.15 nm). The TEM can be operated at acceleration voltages of 60 kV, 80 kV, and 200 kV, making it suitable for the examination of biological and radiation-sensitive samples. The instrument has two 4k x 4k cameras. The microscope is characterized by the high brightness of the electron source, the large solid angle of the windowless EDX detector (almost 1 steradian), a backscatter and secondary electron detector, and the ability to capture high-resolution images with elemental contrast using the High Angle Annular Dark Field (HAADF) detector.
The equipment with a CEFID energy filter additionally enables the recording of energy loss spectra (EELS) and elemental distributions as well as contrast-enhanced images. This allows, among other things, the improved visualization of low-contrast structures, such as biological systems. The microscope is equipped with a cryo-plunger and a cryo-transfer holder, so that samples in aqueous medium or radiation-sensitive samples can be prepared and observed.
Contact Person
Prof. Dr. Simone Pokrant
Research Services
High-resolution imaging of solids, nanoparticles, and aerogels (TEM & STEM); elemental analysis (EDX, EELS); structural analysis by diffraction, imaging of surfaces, images with elemental contrast (HAADF); imaging of biological structures
Methods & Expertise for Research Infrastructure
Phase identification
• Representation of crystallite orientation in a microstructure
• High-resolution investigations of grain boundaries, sample morphologies, and higher-dimensional defects
• Study of local heterogeneity and chemical material differentiation
• Chemical analysis
• Element distributions on the nanoscale for heavy and light elements
• Oxidation states of elements
The device is used for spatially high-resolution physical and chemical characterization of solids, micro- and nanostructures, and biological systems. Typical applications are found in the areas of
• Investigation of defects
• Characterization of aerogels and other porous materials
• Characterization of nanomaterials
• Imaging of nano-vesicular structures
• Study of energy materials
Allocation to research infrastructure
University of Salzburg, Department of Environment and Biodiversity
University of Innsbruck, Institute of Mechatronics
University of Applied Sciences Landshut, Faculty of Mechanical and Civil Engineering
Austrian Institute of Technology, Light Metal Competence Center Ranshofen
Hamburg University of Technology, Institute of Technical Process Engineering
2023-2028
Ch. Prehal
ERC
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101078271
Interreg Projekt REBI
2022-2027
Hüsing N., Pokrant S.
Interreg
https://rebi-am.com/
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Nanovesicular Precision Medicine
2024-laufend
Meisner-Kober N.
Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft
https://www.plus.ac.at/news/plus-ludwig-boltzmann-institut-lbi-fuer-health-science/?pgrp=218&is_paged=1
https://nvpm.lbg.ac.at/
Charge Separation in Graded Metal Oxide Nanocomposites
2022-2026
Diwald, O.; Bourret, G.
FWF
https://www.fwf.ac.at/en/research-radar/10.55776/P34906
Field-Enhanced Photocatalysis at Nanoscale Gaps
2020-2024
Bourret, G.; O. Diwald
FWF
Optimizing Catalyst Loading Within Nanostructured Silicon Photoelectrodes
2020-2023
Bourret, G.; Farhadi, A.
ÖAW
BioMatTEM
2022-2024
Pokrant S.; Meisner-Kober, N.;Bourret, G.
FFG
E(co)-Forming
2021-2024
Hüsing, N.; Zickler, G.; Österreicher, J.
FFG, LKR, Voestalpine, Infineon, PhysTech, AIT
Field-Enhanced Photocatalysis at Nanoscale Gaps
2020-2024
Bourret, G.; O. Diwald
FWF
Optimizing Catalyst Loading Within Nanostructured Silicon Photoelectrodes
2020-2023
Bourret, G.; Farhadi, A.
ÖAW
Charge separation within graded metal oxide nanocomposites
2023-2026
Diwald, O.; Bourret, G.
FWF
BioMatTEM
2022-2024
Pokrant S.; Meisner-Kober, N.;Bourret, G.
FFG
E(co)-Forming
2021-2024
Hüsing, N.; Zickler, G.; Österreicher, J.
FFG, LKR, Voestalpine, Infineon, PhysTech, AIT
2025
Dutta, Pronoy; Mentlen, Jean-Marc von; Mondal, Soumyadip; Kostoglou, Nikolaos; Wilts, Bodo D.; Freunberger, Stefan A. et al.
ACS Energy Letters 10 (11), S. 5722–5732
10.1021/acsenergylett.5c02093
Iron-Loaded Carbon Spherogels as Sustainable Electrode Materials for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries
2026
Borhani, Saeed; Le Thao, Thi; Zickler, Gregor A.; Quade, Antje; Elsaesser, Michael S.; Presser, Volker; Arnold, Stefanie
Chemistry of Materials
10.1021/acs.chemmater.5c02442
Coherent lamellar phase decomposition of alkali feldspar studied by a microscopic approach.
2026
Benisek, A., Dachs, E., Zickler, G. et al.
Phys Chem Minerals 53, 4
10.1007/s00269-026-01338-y
V3O7·H2O as a Cathode Material for Aqueous Mg2+/Na+ Hybrid Electrochemical Cells.
2025
Söllinger, Daniela; Lam Chen, Julie; Zalesak, Jakub; Praxmair, Jakob & Pokrant, Simone
ACS Omega, 10(10), S. 10152-10161
10.1021/acsomega.4c08983
Determining the electrochemical properties of SiO2 for the rational design of siliconbased active materials in lithium-ion batteries.
2025
Karl, Michael; Dräger, Christoph; Kalyakina, Alena; Poschenrieder, Johanna; Zalesak, Jakub; Zickler, Gregor; Haufe, Stefan & Pokrant, Simone
Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 2025(11), S. 2897-2910
10.1007/s10800-025-02368-0.
Efficient Electrochemical Reforming of Water-Insoluble C-Only Plastic Wastes.
2025
Bourret, Gilles; Pokrant, Simone; Bartschmid, Theresa; Farhadi, Amin; Hörndl, Julian & Esmaeili, Tayebeh
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 13(22), S. 8289-8297
10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c00907
Hydrothermally Synthesized BiVO4: The Role of KCl as Additive for Improved Photoelectrochemical and Photocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Activity.
2025
Praxmair, Jakob; Creazzo, Fabrizio; Tang, Deqi; Zalesak, Jakub; Hörndl, Julian; Luber, Sandra & Pokrant, Simone
ChemElectroChem, 12(22), Artikel e202500280
10.1002/celc.202500280
Multivalent Cu Catalytic-Sites on TiO2 for efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution and Mechanistic Insights from Solid-State Operando Photochemical Analysis.
2025
Tzevelekidis, Panagiotis; Sakellis, Elias; Boukos, Nikos; Bikogiannakis, Alexandros K.; Kyriakou, Georgios; Praxmair, Jakob; Zickler, Gregor; Pokrant, Simone & Mitsopoulou, Christiana A.
Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 13(46), S. 39859-39876
10.1039/d5ta04071j
Information Depth in Backscattered Electron Microscopy of Nanoparticles Within a Solid Matrix
2018
Johannes A Österreicher, Florian Grabner, Andreas Schiffl, Sabine Schwarz, Gilles R, Bourret
Materials Characterization
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044580317322295
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2018.01.049
Secondary precipitation during homogenization of Al-Mg-Si alloys: Influence on high temperature flow stress
2017
Österreicher J. A., Kumar K., Schiffl A., Schwarz S., Bourret G. R.
Materials Science and Engineering: A
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921509317300990
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2017.01.074
Confined Etching within 2D and 3D Colloidal Crystals for Tunable Nanostructured Templates: Local Environment Matters
2017
J. Fedja, R. Oberreiter, M. Salihovic, M. Elsaesser, G. R. Bourret
ACS Appl. Mater. & Interf.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.6b14226
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b14226
Investigation of Mass-Produced Substrates for Reproducible Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Measurements over Large Areas
2017
Andreas Reyer, Adrian Prinz, Stefano Giancristofaro, Johannes Schneider, Durval Bertoldo Menezes, Gregor Zickler, Gilles R. Bourret, Maurizio E. Musso
ACS Appl. Mater. & Interf.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.7b06002
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b06002
Flexible Organofunctional Aerogels
2017
C.R. Ehgartner, S. Grandl, A. Feinle, N. Hüsing
Dalton Trans. 2017, 46, 8809-8817
DOI:10.1039/C7DT00558J
Setting Directions: Anisotropy in Hierarchically Organized Porous Silica
2017
F. Putz, R. Morak, M.S. Elsässer, C. Balzer, S. Braxmeier, J. Bernardi, O. Paris, G. Reichenauer, N. Hüsing
Chem. Mater., 2017, 29, 7969-7975
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b03032
Monolithic porous magnesium silicide
2017
N. Hayati-Roodbari, M.S. Elsaesser, J. Bernardi, N. Huesing
Dalton Trans. 2017, 46, 8855-8860
DOI:10.1039/c7dt00571g
Synthesis and electrocatalytic performance of spherical core-shell tantalum (oxy)nitride@nitrided carbon composites in the oxygen reduction reaction
2016
M. Wassner, M. Eckardt, C. Gebauer, G. R. Bourret, N. Hüsing, R. J. Behm
Electrochimica Acta, 2016, 227, 367-381
DOI:10.1016/j.electacta.2016.12.145
Stability and Local Environment of Iron in Vapor Phase Grown MgO Nanocrystals
2017
Niedermaier M., Dolcet P., Gheisi A.R., (...), Bernardi J., Diwald O.
Journal of Physical Chemistry C; 121(43), pp. 24292-24301
Iron Precursor Decomposition in the Magnesium Combustion Flame: A New Approach for the Synthesis of Particulate Metal Oxide Nanocomposites
2017
Gheisi A.R., Niedermaier M., Tippelt G., (...), Bernardi J., Diwald O.
Particle and Particle Systems Characterization; 34(10),1700109
Enzyme adsorption-induced activity changes: A quantitative study on TiO2model agglomerates
2017
Márquez A., Kocsis K., Zickler G., (...), Berger T., Diwald O.
Journal of Nanobiotechnology; 15(1),55
Hydroxylation Induced Alignment of Metal Oxide Nanocubes
2017
Thomele D., Bourret G.R., Bernardi J., Bockstedte M., Diwald O.
Angewandte Chemie - International Edition; 56(5), pp. 1407-1410
Three-Dimensional Lithography on Si Micro- and Nanowire Arrays
2018
F. J. Wendisch, Michael S. Saller, A. Eadie, A. Reyer, M. Musso, M. Rey, N. Vogel, O. Diwald, and G. Bourret
Nano Letters
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b03608
Spatioselective Deposition of Passivating and Electrocatalytic Layers on Si Nanowire Arrays
2020
F. J. Wendisch, M. Abazari, V. Werner, H. Barb, M. Rey, E.S.A. Goerlitzer, N. Vogel, H. Mahdavi, and G. R. Bourret
ACS AMI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c14013
Selective Enhancement of Surface and Bulk E-Field within Porous AuRh and AuRu Nanorods
2021
Piaskowski, Alisher Ibragimov, Fedja J. Wendisch and Gilles R. Bourret
J. Phys. Chem. C
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c08699
Selective Enhancement of Surface and Bulk E-Field within Porous AuRh and AuRu Nanorods
2021
Piaskowski, Alisher Ibragimov, Fedja J. Wendisch and Gilles R. Bourret
J. Phys. Chem. C
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c08699
Rh in the gap: maximizing E-field enhancement within nanorod heterodimers†
2023
Joshua Piaskowski, Georg Haberfehlner, Theresa Bartschmid, Gerald Kothleitner, Martin Steinhart and Gilles R. Bourret
J. Mater. Chem. C
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2023/tc/d3tc00957b
Charge Separation in BaTiO3 Nanocrystals: Spontaneous Polarization Versus Point Defect Chemistry
2023
E Neige, T Schwab, M Musso, T Berger, GR Bourret, O Diwald
Small
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/smll.202206805
e2206805
High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries with High Stability Derived From Titanium-Oxide- and Sulfur-Loaded Carbon Spherogels
2023
Bornamehr, B., Arnold, S., Dun, C., Urban, J., Zickler, G., Elsässer, M., Presser, V.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (ACS Publications
Conformal Coverage of ZnO Nanowire Arrays by ZnMnO3: Room‐temperature Photodeposition from Aqueous Solution
2023
Rettenmaier, K., Zickler, G. A., Berger, T.
CHEMPHYSCHEM
10.1002/cphc.202300250
Water-Mediated Conversion of BaTiO3 Nanoparticles into BaCO3 Nanorods in Electrospun Polymer Fibers: Implications for Carbon Capture Applications
2023
Razouq, H., Neuhauser, K., Zickler, G., Berger, T., Diwald, O.
ACS Applied Nano Materials
10.1021/acsanm.3c03703
Chemical reduction of porous WO3 and TiO2 photoelectrocatalysts by atomic hydrogen
2023
Jimenez Morales, J. M., Zickler, G., Redhammer, G., Berger, T.
Applied Catalysis A: General
10.1016/j.apcata.2023.119163
Synthesis and Structure of the Double-Layered Sillén–Aurivillius Perovskite Oxychloride La2.1Bi2.9Ti2O11Cl as a Potential Photocatalyst for Stable Visible Light Solar Water Splitting
2023
Werner, V., Aschauer, U., Redhammer, G. J., Schoiber, J., Zickler, G. A., Pokrant, S.
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c00116
Topotactic metal hydroxide decomposition to organize metal oxide nanoparticles inside electrospun fibers
2023
Razouq, H., Zickler, G., Berger, T., Hüsing, N., Diwald, O.
Ceramics International
10.1016/j.ceramint.2022.12.081
Secondary ageing and formability of an Al-Cu-Mg alloy (2024) in W and under-aged tempers
2023
Österreicher, J. A., Nebeling, D., Grabner, F., Cerny, A., Zickler, G. A., Eriksson, J., Wikström, G., Suppan, W., Schlögl, C. M
Materials and Design
10.1016/j.matdes.2023.111634
Substrate-Enabled Room-Temperature Electrochemical Deposition of Crystalline ZnMnO3
2023
Rettenmaier, K., Zickler, G., Redhammer, G., Berger, T.
ChemPhysChem
10.1002/cphc.202200586
Conversion of MgO Nanocrystal Surfaces into Ceramic Interfaces: Exsolution of BaO as Photoluminescent Interface Probes
2023
Schwab, T., Razouq, H., Aicher, K., Zickler, G., Diwald, O.
Journal of the American Ceramic Society
10.1111/jace.18833
Exploring the insertion properties of Mg2+ in H2V3O8 as a function of the water content in the organic electrolyte
2022
Söllinger, D., Redhammer, G., Schoiber, J., Zickler, G., Pokrant, S.
Electrochimica Acta
10.1016/j.electacta.2022.141294
