Abstract: 

Molecular self-assembly is pervasive in the formation of living and synthetic materials. Knowledge gained from research into the principles of molecular self-assembly drives innovation in the biological, chemical, and materials sciences. Self-assembly processes span a wide range of temporal and spatial domains and are often unintuitive and complex. Studying such complex processes requires an arsenal of analytical and computational tools. Within this arsenal, the transmission electron microscope stands out for its unique ability to visualize and quantify self-assembly structures and processes. In this talk I will discuss the application of Cryogenic and Liquid Phase TEM to the study of molecular self-assembly mechanisms, showing examples from our work in protein@metal-organic frameworks, block copolymers, and active materials.