Microscopic views on the nanoworld

Nanocharacterisation 

John Hutchison and Angus Kirkland (eds.) 

Cambridge, UK: RSC Publishing 2007 | 304pp | £79.00 (HB) ISBN 9780854042418 

Reviewed by Ed Gillan

This high-level collection of chapters on recent advances in modern microscopic characterisation methods is timely, given the rapidly decreasing size of microelectronic features and growth in chemically synthesised inorganic nanoscale materials. 

This text is one of the first volumes from the RSC Nanoscience and nanotechnology  series and each in-depth chapter is authored by an expert in the field. A vast majority of the chapters detail cutting-edge advances in nanoscale electron microscopy that allow atomic level imaging at unprecedented levels. The mathematical rigour and instrumental details are extensive. 

Advances in constructing three dimensional images from microscopy data are extensively discussed, with some particularly impressive examples of inorganic magnetite nanoparticle shapes that are imaged inside bacteria. While this book is heavily weighted towards electron beam methods of nanocharacterisation, one chapter attempts to broaden the coverage with a good description of scanning tunneling microscopy applied to nanoscale materials. 

This is not an entry-level textbook for a student interested in microscopy, although several chapters give very readable introductions to advanced techniques, for example EELS. This text contains very well-referenced chapters on the newest advances in nanoscale imaging and microscopy and would be a welcome addition to the shelf of any research microscopist who wishes to venture beyond the conventional boundaries of these techniques.