This striking SEM image captures the highly faceted morphology of electrodeposited tin-antimony (SnSb), a binary metal alloy being developed in the Prieto (Chemistry Department) group as a high-performance anode material for next-generation sodium-ion batteries. With a high theoretical capacity of 753 mAh/g, SnSb is a promising alternative for sodium-ion energy storage. The faceted crystal morphology shown here has been found to improve Na-ion half-cell cycling performance, illustrating how electron microscopy can reveal the critical relationship between microstructure and electrochemical behavior. The research is funded by the NSF (Award number is #2211067).

This TEM image reveals the atomic structure of a core–shell W₁₈O₄₉@WS₂ nanotube with sufficient resolution to simultaneously visualize the oxide core and the surrounding five WS₂ layers. The image supports the Sambur (Chemistry Department) group’s work on identifying the chirality of individual inorganic nanotubes, helping establish a practical electron microscopy approach for studying chirality-dependent properties and future applications in photocatalysis. The research was supported by ACS-PRF and NSF.