Structure determination of small particles by HREM imaging: theory and experiment

The characterization of the structure of small particles (with a size of a few nanometers) is very important in order to understand their optical, electronic and magnetic properties. High-resolution electron microscopy is a fundamental tool to obtain a full characterization of nanometric particles. In the present work, we report a systematic theoretical study of the HREM images of metallic particles with nanometric sizes. The images of gold clusters with FCC, decahedral, icosahedral and amorphous structures are reported for a number of orientations with respect to the electron beam. Experimental images of a number of particles are reported and compared with the calculated images and Fourier transforms. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.