HIGH-RESOLUTION TRANSMISSION ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY STUDY OF NANOSTRUCTURED METALS

High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) studies of ga s-phase prepared nanocrystalline palladium (nc-Pd) and molybdenum (nc- Mo) are presented. In nc-Pd where structural relaxation and initial gr ain growth may occur the crystallites are found to be slightly straine d with a few dislocations as well as stacking faults and twins. In nc- Mo, in addition to some narrow grain boundaries extended transition re gions between slightly misoriented crystallites are observed. For a co mprehensive study of the interface structure of nc solids by HRTEM the determination of the orientational correlation between adjacent cryst allites is pivotal. This is facilitated by a controlled tilting proced ure developed in order to align an individual-crystallite with the ele ctron beam, e.g., along a zone-axis orientation.