Room-temperature structure determination of vacuum-sensitive organic compounds by formvar encapsulation and serial electron diffraction.

Abstract

Samples used in electron microscopy are traditionally required to be stable under vacuum. However, many organic compounds with high vapor pressures readily sublime at room temperature, a process that is further accelerated under the high-vacuum conditions of an electron microscope. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the structure determination of vacuum-sensitive organic compounds in their solid state at room temperature using electron crystallography. Serial electron diffraction was employed to obtain sub-Å-resolution structures of anthracene and pyrene, two representative organic molecules which sublimate under the high-vacuum conditions of a transmission electron microscope. This was made possible by a simple sample preparation technique in which ultrathin crystals are encapsulated with a formvar layer to prevent sublimation under vacuum. By combining serial electron diffraction with formvar encapsulation, we demonstrate high-resolution structure determination of vacuum-sensitive samples at room temperature rather than cryogenic conditions. Moreover, by avoiding low-temperature phase transitions that can alter material properties, this method expands the accessible temperature range for studying the structural characteristics of vacuum-sensitive materials.