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 Smiling Facemask

Submitted by Mohammad Shamsi
The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) - North Carolina State University
 
A scanning electron micrograph of a fiber mat - just like those found in facemasks - showed a happy face. Viruses stay away!

Kiss of the Macrophage

Submitted by Abdon Pena-Francesch
University of Michigan

A macrophage (pink, a type of immune cell) attacking and "eating" a helical microrobot (green, 20 microns in length) after detecting it as a threat. A "kiss of death" at the microscale. Colored SEM image originally published in Cabanach et al., Advanced Materials 32.42 (2020).

Water Lilies in the Moonlight

Submitted by Yadong Yin
University of California, Riverside

This artwork is inspired by a transmission electron microscopy image of silicate nanosheet assemblies synthesized in a colloidal reaction. With a well-defined flower-like morphology, these nanosheet assemblies are reminiscent of water lilies blooming in a pond. The flowers and leaves were colored digitally using an oil painting effect, giving them vitality that bursts in tranquility and harmony.

Undiscovered Worlds

Submitted by Tarcísio Perfecto
São Paulo State University (Unesp)

FESEM images and the selected area electron diffraction (SAED), acquired in TEM, of ZnO hollow spherical structures. Two images from FEG-SEM in different magnifications were combined with the SAED pattern in the Procreate® and painted to promote the feeling of looking at space and alien worlds.

Microscale Kirigami Net
 
Submitted by Wonjin Choi
University of Michigan

Microscale kirigami net made of ITO-coated parylene polymer sheet. Kirigami, the art of paper cutting, in micro scale enables a combination of mechanical and electrical properties typically unattainable in traditional metals, semiconductors and polymers.

Wandering Fish

Submitted by Wangyan Wu
Institute of New Energy for Vehicles, Tongji University

The fish (a fragment of garnet electrolyte) faced with the coral (Li metal-carbon composite) bleaching problem is going to lose its home and has to wander far away to find a new shelter, which is the similar to the situation where human beings have to seek for alternatives of fossil fuel for sustainable development, among which Li ion Batteries, or solid state lithium metal batteries under investigation are promising. It is the cross-sectional SEM image of the interface between Li-C composite and garnet electrolyte that was colored by Photoshop.

When Light Meets Light(ness)

Submitted by Junggou Kwon
ETH Zurich

A titania nanoparticle-based aerogel containing gold nanoparticles on top of a dandelion.

Same Material, Different Substrate

Submitted by Paul Dreher
Donostia International Physics Center

Single-layers of NbSe2 were epitaxially grown on 4 different substrates: Au(111) (metal), graphene (semimetal), h-BN (semiconductor), and WSe2 (semiconductor). The low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy images reveal how the supporting substrates modify the atomic - and electronic structure and even has important consequences on electronic phases as charge density wave and superconductivity.

Magnesium Eye-On

Submitted by Janna Eaves-Rathert
Vanderbilt University

This scanning electron microscope image offered in-"sight" into electrodeposition in magnesium "eye"-on batteries. As part of a study into nucleation and growth of magnesium metal, the false-color image was acquired at 10 kV and 10 kX on a Zeiss Merlin SEM through the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

Fire and Ice

Submitted by Justine Paul
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Frontal ring opening metathesis polymerization is a rapid, energy-efficient manufacturing technique for fabricating thermosetting polymers. Thermal initiation is the most common type of initiator as it is easy to implement but the downside is it lacks spatial and temporal control over reaction events. In this image, a noncontact approach, specifically a 375 nm UV -LED light was used to excite Grubb’s second-generation catalyst in the presence of a phosphite inhibitor to photoinitiate the frontal polymerization of dicyclopentadiene.

Maze: 1D-2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Homojunctions

Submitted by Shisheng Li
International Center for Young Scientists, National Institute for Materials Science

It is a transmission electron microscopy image of 1D-2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) homojunctions. The bottom is monolayer 2D TMDC film, the top is 1D TMDC nanoribbons.

A Nanoscale Chemical View of Stretchable Electronics

Submitted by Nathaniel Prine
The University of Southern Mississippi

A self-healing, stretchable semiconductor composite composed of a conjugated polymer blended with a butyl rubber elastomer is measured using atomic-force microscopy paired with infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR). As a scanning probe technique, AFM-IR measures both the surface topography and chemical composition of materials by exciting unique chemical bond vibrations of each component and probing the response at each scan location. In this image, the identity and distribution of each component in the blend is resolved; red and green-highlighted areas indicate the presence of conjugated polymer and butyl rubber elastomer, respectively. The conjugated polymer forms a thick web surrounded by disconnected segments of butyl rubber elastomer. The information gathered from this image provides valuable morphological information that will be used to further research towards stretchable electronics.

La Marche des Aiguilles/The March of the Needles

Submitted by Sara Coppola
CNR ISASI

The artwork “La marche des aiguilles / The march of the needles” represents a collection of biocompatible and functionalized microneedles for drug-delivery, just like the spectacular film “La marche de l'empereur / March of the Penguins (2005)”. The images were taken under photoluminescence emission of the micro-structures fabricated by physical intelligence driven by pyro-electric effect.

Coral Spherulites

Submitted by Pupa Gilbert
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Crystal orientations in a coral skeleton, as measured and displayed in color by Polarization-dependent Imaging Contrast (PIC) mapping with 20-nm resolution. Data from Acta Biomaterialia 2021, DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.06.027

Self-Healing Polymer

Submitted by Dhawal Thakare
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

An SEM image of a cross-section of a self-healing polymer embedded with microcapsules (red) containing healing agents. As the crack (orange) propagates through the material, the microcapsules release healing agents to mitigate damage. The image was obtained using an environmental scanning electron microscope at 5x, and highlighted using Photoshop.

The Micro-pastita

Submitted by Kanit Hantanasirisakul
Drexel University

The Micropastita is a scanning electron microscope image of a fabric used for wearable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding application. It is a fiber with high electronic (metallic) conductivity that can repel and/or absorb electromagnetic waves, keeping you and your electronic devices safe and worry-free!

Atomic Rose

Submitted by Alexandre Foucher
University of Pennsylvania

A dark-field STEM image of a crystalline gold-palladium nano-particle with atomic resolution. The particle's diameter is 7 nm and individual atoms were colorized one by one. The mosaic forms a rose on a background symbolizing a garden. The image was taken with a JEOL NEOARM operating at 200 kV and colors were added using Paint.

Crystal City

Submitted by Susrut Akkineni
University of Washington

Take a glimpse at architecture in the invisible world. Nature manages to make intricate architectures at the nanoscale. Why not learn from nature? This image captured by a Scanning electron microscopy shows a hybrid material synthesized using lessons learnt from tooth enamel. Calcium phosphate, the same material that makes up tooth and bone, was crystallized on proteins nanoribbons patterned over graphene.

Mounted Dot-Core Butterflies

Submitted by Michael Liao
University of California Los Angeles

An X-ray topography image of a bare hydride vapor phase epitaxy gallium nitride substrate with each core separated by 0.8 mm. The cores are regions of high lattice distortion – which result in the high curvature contour lines emanating from the centers of each core. The periodicity and shape of the contour lines resembles pinned butterflies showcased at science museums.

Japanese Cherry Blossoms

Submitted by Chantal Kurpiers
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

The image shows a glassy carbon tetrahedral structure on a silicon wafer. The original polymeric structure was written on a pedestal by 3D laser direct writing. During subsequent pyrolysis, the structure shrank to glassy carbon and flaked off the pedestal layer, which can now be seen as a stalk. Residues from the development and pyrolysis are attached to the substrate and appear as floral structures next to the tetrahedral "cherry blossom" structure.

Separated Yet Connected

Submitted by Alekha Tyagi
Indian Institute of Technology

Presented here is a FESEM micrograph of a nickel sulphide-doped carbon hybrid material for ORR catalysis with unique porous interconnected morphology. Our lives are highly interconnected as a virus originated at one corner created havoc in the entire world. The COVID-19 pandemic confined us in narrow spaces (pores). Staying in touch with maintaining social distancing is important in these times to avoid anxiety and depression. The image is coloured as rainbow to represent the combined efforts of different people around the world to end this pandemic (realize a white (bright) future).

Under Pressure

Submitted by Emilie Raoult
EDF-IPVF

Here is an image taken with a confocal microscope (650*650 µm) of a semi-transparent perovksite solar cell warmed up. The lower Spiro-Ometad layer has expanded due to the temperature, causing the partial detachment of the upper Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) electrode and creating these pink fractal patterns. In the background, you can see the unstuck red/purple surface, where there are many black pinholes running through the cell from side to side.

Snowman Village

Submitted by Eunjin Choi
Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

An SEM image of standing gold (Au) nanodimers, separated by a dielectric nanogap. The snowman-like nanodimers are fabricated by a wafer-scale "lithography-free" scheme, glancing angle deposition (GLAD) with thermal annealing.

Nano Daisy

Submitted by Jinhyeong Kown
Korea Institute of Industrial Technology

SEM captures daisy-like hydrothermally-grown ZnO nanostructure.

Disk of the Death (Mictlantecuhtli)

Submitted by Oscar Alejandro Cortes
McMaster University

The attached image shows a Mexican sculpture known as the disk of the death (left) that was used as a model to 3-D print the reconstructed disk of the death through a volumetric 3-D printing technique developed in our lab that employs nonlinear self-trapped beams elicited in photopolymerizable media (Adv. Mater. Technol. 2017, 2, 1600236). A fluorescent dye was added to the resin for aesthetic purposes. The printed sculpture is being irradiated with blue light to induce fluorescence.

The Holey Ghost

Submitted by Mark Atwater
Liberty University

Scanning electron microscope image of sub-micron porosity in silver powder created by oxide reduction. False color and contrast enhancement performed using Adobe Photoshop. Image collection details: JEOL JSM IT-100 operated at 20 kV, WD of 10 mm, and magnification of 6000X.

A Bubbly Bathtime

Submitted by Chang Quan Lai
Nanyang Technological University

Scanning electron microscope image of bimodal Polyethylene colloids.

Black Hole

Submitted by Hesham El-Sherif
McMaster University

This is a dark-field optical microscope image of an indium spherical particle on a silicon carbide substrate. The interference between reflected waves from different surface locations of this sphere produces what is so-called newton's rings.

Glittering Bacterial Plant

Submitted by Silambarasan Anbumani
University of Campinas

The artwork represents bright-field microscopic image of phytopathogen Xylella fastidiosa’s adhesion on the InP substrate after 24h of growth. The plant-like bacterial adhesion on the substrate was artistically colored using Photoshop without exploitation of actual image.

The MXene Christmas Tree

Submitted by Kyle Matthews
Drexel University

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) image of a multilayer vanadium carbide (V2CTx) MXene particle showing similarities to a Christmas tree. V2CTx is synthesized by selective etching of Al atoms from the V2AlC MAX phase and is a promising electrode material for energy storage devices such as supercapacitors and batteries. The SEM image was taken using a Zeiss Supra Scanning Electron Microscope, and artificial colors were added using computer software without manipulation of the original image. Image credit: Kyle Matthews, Armin VahidMohammadi, Yury Gogotsi. 

A Mysterious Creature Under Icebergs

Submitted by Kyungjin Kim
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

The magical polar region is filled with icebergs and northern lights. And look, there is an unrevealed submarine creature carrying a secret of the ice age! This is an SEM cross-section of multilayered metal oxide and Parylene C polymer layers after a fine ion-polishing; This multilayer barrier was tested under a harsh environment over 4 months, yet the conformally coated nanoscale oxide layers are exposed while the polishing cut-through the particle near the barrier.

Cheesecake Miniatures on Dining Table

Submitted by Di Zhang
Purdue University

This is a plan-view STEM image showing the core-shell structure of self-assembled BaTiO3-AuxAg1-x hybrid metamaterial. It looks like some cheesecake miniatures on the dining table. The image was taken from high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) using Thermo Fisher Scientific Talos F200X TEM.

Dog Bone

Submitted by Dmitry Dzhigaev
Lund University

The image is a 3D isosurface representation of scattered intensity around (110) and (002) Bragg peaks of perovskite CsPbBr3. It is recorded by Bragg Coherent X-ray Diffraction Imaging technique at NanoMAX beamline (MAX IV, Sweden) from a single isolated 500 nm particle. The "dog-bone" structure of the Bragg reflection arises from two twin domains inside the particle and fringes come from the shape of the nanocrystal.

Chloride Forest

Submitted by Evgeniy Makagon
Weizmann Institute of Science

Gd doped CeO2 thin film was etched using BCl3 plasma. These patterns are Ce chlorides on the surface of the un-etched film. The image was not colored, all original color.

Many Atoms/Modern Art

Submitted by Berit Goodge
Cornell University

TPerfect is boring -- defects can be pretty too! Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) image reveals how a thin film of Sr2RuO4 thin film (middle right) grows around a Ru metal impurity (top left) that has reacted with the NdGaO3 substrate (bottom right) to form a boundary region of (Sr,Nd)2GaO4 (middle), leaving a pocket of Ga-deficient Nd2O3 (bottom left). Field of view: 26 nm x 26 nm.

Blood on the Arrow

Submitted by Guanyu Lu
Vanderbilt University

False-colored SEM image of 4H-SiC arrow structure fabricated by the electron-beam lithography process. Nickel is used as the hard mask for the etching. Metal bubbles are forming during the reactive ion etching process, showing as blood on the top of the etched SiC substrate.

The Journey from Disorder to Order

Submitted by Arash Momeni
University of British Columbia

Polarized optical microscopy images of a cellulose nanocrystal suspension forming a liquid crystalline ordered pattern inside a capillary tube over time.

The Plasmonic Blue

Submitted by Mathias Charconnet
CIC nanoGUNE

The plasmonic blue, in homage to "Le bleu" from Yves Klein, is a dark-field microscope image taken from a plasmonic sample. The intense blue seen on the image comes from the plasmonic coupling of gold nanoparticles assembled into periodical arrays, while the golden color comes from the packing of gold nanoparticles into dense films leading to the formation of a mirror-like structure giving the golden colour. While Soulages patented the carbon black for being the purest black existing, would Yves Klein patent the plasmonic blue if he was still alive?

Techno Stone

Submitted by Souvik Sasmal
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

In this frame, Thanos has found a new “Techno Stone”, made of CaAuAs single crystal. Very uniquely grown this eye-dropping single crystal, the hexagonal layered in structure, is an emerging material in modern devices for its unique transport property. This 2.5 mm sized crystal has been picturized using a mobile camera keeping its original color intact. The picture of Thanos has been added from an external source to provide additional significance to the idea.

Chameleon

Submitted by Hsiang-Chu Wang
EPFL

Structural color printing of a chameleon composed of Ag rods with different lengths aligned horizontally. The background shows SEM image of the nanostructures (sizes between 60 and 200 nm). The colors vary with the illumination (black arrows) and measurement (red arrows) polarization states. Muted colors are generated when both polarizations are horizontal or vertical. On the contrary, illumination along the diagonal directions produces exceptionally vivid colors, that stem from the dichroism of the structure. Only the correct polarization combination reveals these catchy colors in the optical microscope.

Magnetic Fire

Submitted by Matthew Waldrip
Wake Forest University

An experiment involving the spray deposition of graphite contacts for organic field-effect transistors unexpectedly left blue fire imprinted on the substrate, displaying the beauty of diamagnetism. The contact mask was held in place by a neodymium magnet, the field of which was strong enough to channel graphite in an alcohol and resin binder solution to create patterns resembling tongues of flame. This photo was taken through an Olympus SZ60 microscope with a smartphone camera and lightly enhanced.

Oops!  I Left My Fingerprint on Your Sample

Submitted by Christopher Walters
University of British Columbia

Scanning electron microscopy image of a cross-section of a fiber showing a concentric chiral nematic structure formed using cellulose nanocrystals.

Dapper Datura

Submitted by Renuka Rajasekaran
Luella High School

This beautiful image of a datura flower combines the image of the corolla and the image of the pistil. The corolla is the image of the filter funnel in which copper sulfate solution was filtered using facial tissue. The pistil of the flower is the portion of a chalk from chalk chromatography of iron (III) nitrate. These are regular photos taken using a cell phone. Image cropping was done by Photoshop. Calyx and stalk regions of datura (of the funnel’s stalk) have been colored green. Small lines were drawn on the top of the pistil to give the textural effect of the stigma. These two activities were done and photographed on different dates (Filtration in 2018; Chalk chromatography in 2016). This is a high-school classroom lab setting. Corolla: At the end of a lab day, I found that copper sulfate crystals had been spilled by students on some lab stations, which I collected carefully. Before I left the school, I wanted to dissolve the collected copper sulfate sample in water and filter it to be preserved as a solution for use in qualitative work. But no filter paper was available. I unintentionally used two-layers of facial tissue for the filtration. The next morning, the filter funnel had blossomed into a beautiful datura. Pistil:  It is the portion of a chalk, on which iron (III) nitrate has been adsorbed (in a study of iron (III) adsorption on limestone by chalk chromatography).

Graphene Sea

Submitted by Hongchen Guo
National University of Singapore

The overlayed graphene sheets show the similarity of the sea waves that both are flexible and expandable.

Trapped Butterflies

Submitted by Andres Godoy
University of Connecticut

A Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) micrograph and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) elemental mapping of platinum on carbon nanoparticles coated with titanium nitrite by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). The nanoparticles were deposited on a holey carbon-coated copper grid for STEM characterization. The image displays agglomerates of these nanoparticles attached to the holey carbon net by Van der Waals forces.

The Rose Gold Pendant

Submitted by Rani Mary Joy
Hasselt University / IMO / IMEC

Partially melted and resolidified germanium substrate with localised nanodiamonds. 

Lithium Dendrite Aquarium

Submitted by Vikalp Raj
IISc Bangalore

This is a cross-sectional SEM image of a lithium/solid electrolyte (Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12) interface. On the rightmost edge we have lithium metal interface with solid electrolyte (shaded in red). The fish is just a piece of lithium metal hanging from the parent lithium. The bottom rock like morphology is the solid electrolyte. On top of solid electrolyte, we have electrochemical growth of lithium dendrites (shaded in green) with curvy rods like morphology. Adobe Photoshop was used to false color this SEM image. (Photoshop credits: Sourayan Basu Bal)

The Silicon Planet vs Covid19 Comet

Submitted by Poorani Gnanasambandan
Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology

The Silicon Planet is a collage of thin film on Si deposited using Atomic Layer Deposition Blue: 12-in Si monitor consisting of 91.84±2.32nm MgO film Pink: Wafer pieces from 201.24±1.28nm ZnO film Green: 303.91±1.89nm Zn1-xSnxO films.  The Collage has been Photoshopped into background. Background stars and covid virus image: From Pixabay. 

3D Printed with Flexible Temperature Sensors Textile Functioning as Electronic Skin

Submitted by Galina Mihaleva
Nanyang Technological University

Electronic Sensorial Skin.  Protecting and shielding of radio wave and microwave radiation so that the radiation cannot penetrate the shield and play the role as radiation barrier also refers  to Electromagnetic interference (EMI) Functional and multifunctional structural shielding membranes, 3D printed on flexible structures, coded with nanoparticles sensitive and absorbent to radio and other electromagnetic waves.

Just Print Your Cancer and Test It

Submitted by Hee-Gyeong Yi
Chonnam National University

Illustration to describe the concept of 3D bioprinting for establishing patient-specific cancer with tissue-specific bioinks.