Patterning and Self Assembly on 2D Materials Visualized Using In Situ Electron Microscopy

The fascinating characteristics of two-dimensional (2D) materials offer prospects for understanding new physical phenomena and developing innovative functional devices. <i>In situ </i>electron microscopy can play a critical role by providing the ability to pattern 2D materials as well as to image during deposition onto their surfaces. We first discuss <i>in situ</i> irradiation as a tool to drive local transformations in 2D materials, exploring in particular a rearrangement of the 2D magnet CrSBr that changes the layer orientation, aiming to modulate properties such as magnetic texture. We then explore <i>in</i> <i>situ</i> imaging of deposition onto 2D surfaces as a means to understand the growth mechanisms involved and the resulting morphology and defects of the deposited layer. In these experiments, controlled environment and atomic level precision offer unique benefits. The rapid advances in <i>in situ</i> TEM instrumentation therefore promise exciting future opportunities to understand and use nanoscale materials reactions to create complex structures based on 2D materials.<b> </b>