They make the first x-rays of an atom

Since the discovery of x-rays Late nineteenth century, an essential tool in many fields. This type of electromagnetic radiation has very high energy and short wavelength, however They are not only used to show if we have a fracture or broken bone; They are used for many purposes, including in space, such as Chandra Observatory which it observes in its X-ray spectrum since its release in July 1999. Although we have also used it to study the molecular world, We have never been able to study a single atom with X-rays, only with batches of atoms to understand what they are and predict how those atoms will act in a particular chemical reaction. So far.

A new study by scientists at Ohio State University’s Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Illinois-Chicago reveals Image properties of a single atom using only X-ray technology, According to the researchers in their work published in the journal nature.

atom through x-rays

Very powerful microscopes can take pictures of individual atoms, and in fact they do pretty much all the time, but onlyin X-ray and spectroscopy (a method of taking the “chemical fingerprint” of an object based on the wavelengths of light it absorbs or emits)Pictures alone can’t tell scientists what element they’re looking for. Characterizing an atom—scanning the lone organism, classifying it according to its element, decoding its properties, and understanding how it will behave in chemical reactions—is a very complex task.

In various experiments, the researchers have achieved what science has not yet been able to: Combine X-rays in quantum tunneling and focus them in a particle accelerator called a synchrotron with a technique called tunneling microscopy., which uses a conductive tip to scan the sample surface. They identified individual atoms and measured some of their key properties.

“The technique used and the concept tested in this study opened up new horizons in X-ray science and nanoscale studies,” said Tulolop Michael Ajay, co-author of the study.

Quantum tunneling

for demonstration, The team chose one iron atom and one terbium atom, Both are included in their respective molecular families. To detect the X-ray signal from an atom, they supplemented conventional X-ray detectors with a specialized detector made with a sharp metal tip placed very close to the sample to collect excited X-ray electrons (SX-STM). The X-ray spectroscopy in SX-STM is powered by the photoabsorption of electrons from the core level and is very effective in directly identifying the elemental type of material resulting in a unique fingerprint.

In the experiment, not only were they able to distinguish the type of atoms they were looking at (there were two different types), but they were also able to study the chemical behavior these atoms displayed. The team found that X-ray absorption spectra revealed matching fingerprints of iron and terbium atoms.

We also discovered the chemical states of individual atoms.hurray explained. “By comparing the chemical states of an iron atom and a terbium atom within their molecular hosts, we find that a terbium atom, a rare earth metal, is fairly isolated and does not change its chemical state while iron interacts strongly with its surroundings.”

A discovery that will change the world

“You can routinely photograph atoms with scanning microscopes, but without X-rays, you can’t tell what they are made of,” said Sy Wai Hla, a physicist at Ohio University and Argonne National Laboratory. a job. “Now we can detect exactly what type of atom it is, one atom at a time, and we can measure its chemical state at the same time. Once we can do that, we’ll be able to track materials down to the limit of a single atom. This will have a huge impact on medical and environmental sciences and may even find a cure that could have a huge impact on humanity. This discovery will change the world.”

Scientists will continue to use X-rays to discover the properties of a single atom and find ways to revolutionize their applications for use in critical materials research gathering and more.

reference:

Tololop M. Ajayi, Nozomi Shirato, Thomas Rojas, Sarah Wieghold, Shinyu Cheng, Kyaw Zen Lat, Daniel J. Wang, Eric Mason, Volker Rose, Xiaopeng Lee, Anh Tie Ngo, and Sao Wai Hla. Characterization of only one atom using synchrotron X-rays. Nature, 2023; 618 (7963): 69 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06011-w