How can nanoscale electrochemical transformations be extrapolated to benchtop or industrial scale?
Hummingbird Scientific in-situ holders are built to characterize electrochemical reactions, enabling real-time observation of nanoscale transformations and the direct connection of structure to performance. Multi-modal TEM, SEM, and X-ray experiments can be carried out in a broad range of electrolytes at temperatures beyond 300 °C without need for drift correction, using ultra-stable cross-compatible microfabricated chips. Every Hummingbird holder is developed for performance, reproducibility, and ease of use. Scroll down to explore the types of electrochemical experiments made possible by these holders.
Which type of experiment best matches your research?
Pre- and post-reaction TEM characterization
Correlate pristine and post-reaction catalyst structure and composition using high-resolution TEM characterization.
Pre- and post-reaction TEM characterization
Characterize pristine samples and post-reaction products directly on experimental chips with the Hummingbird Scientific TEM tomography sample holder.
Postmortem analysis with tomography holder supplements in-situ liquid electrochemical TEM
Cu2O nanocubes were characterized using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) before and after in-situ CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR).
- Fragmentation and redeposition, detachment and aggregation were observed under CO2RR.
- The ultra stable tomography holder supplemented in-situ results with high quality post-mortem EDS revealing reduced O and Cl signal.
- Interchangeable tomography holder tips are available to accommodate chips from liquid electrochemical experiments.
Reference: Philipp Grosse, et al, Nature Communications 12, 6736 (2021) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26743-5
Image copyright © 2021 Springer Nature Limited
Liquid-Electrochemical battery processes
Correlate electrochemical performance with nanoscale structural and chemical evolution during battery cycling.
Liquid-Electrochemical battery processes
Observe in-situ charge-discharge cycling in a broad range of liquid electrolytes while performing operando electrochemical measurements with Hummingbird Scientific Generation V bulk liquid-electrochemistry sample holders.
Strain-associated lithium transport in single crystalline NMC battery particles
Single crystalline LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (scNMC) particles were characterized using operando scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) combined with post-cycling Bragg coherent diffraction X-ray imaging to uncover strain-associated lithium transport dynamics.
- Lithium transport occurred counter to concentration gradients.
- Near-uniform yet fluctuating lithium dense and poor regions were observed during cycling.
- Management of lithium-poor surface regions may improve rate performances.
Reference: Danwon Lee, et al, Nature Communications 16, 9018 (2025) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64068-9
Image copyright © 2025 Springer Nature Limited
Inert transfer of air-sensitive materials
Preserve pristine air-sensitive materials during transfer and characterize their operando electrochemical behavior.
Inert transfer of air-sensitive materials
Observe operando structural and chemical transformations in air-sensitive battery materials during charge-discharge cycling with the Hummingbird Scientific MEMS air-free transfer biasing sample holder.
Cr-LiF as a High Energy Density Conversion-Type Cathode for Li-ion Solid-State Batteries
Lithiated Cr-LiF thin film transition-metal fluoride cathodes were deposited with a controllable stoichiometric ratio and characterized in-situ during cycling electrical cycling.
- Cr-LiF with a 1:1.2 ratio produced a heterogeneous thin film that outperformed Fe-LiF analogs.
- Operando measurements and first-principles calculations indicate CrF2 is the dominant delithiated phase.
- Capacity falls from 435 mAh/g to only 208 mAh/g over 1500 cycles.
Reference: Joel Casella, et al, Communications Materials 7 113 (2026) DOI: 10.1038/s43246-026-01121-0
Image copyright © 2026 Springer Nature Limited
Operando liquid-phase electrochemical corrosion studies
Observe corrosion initiation, propagation, and material degradation during operando liquid-phase electrochemical reactions.
Operando liquid-phase electrochemical corrosion studies
Observe corrosion mechanisms in situ at elevated temperature and under applied bias with Hummingbird Scientific Generation V bulk liquid-electrochemistry sample holders.
In-situ iron corrosion in brine observed to initiate favorably along grain boundaries, transition to 2D spread
Structural evolution of a 50 nm iron thin film was characterized using in-situ TEM under exposure to 0.1 NaCl brine with corrosion product confirmed by selected area electron diffraction (SAED).
- Dissolution of the iron film and nucleation of corrosion products is captured in real time.
- In-situ selected area electron diffraction (SAED) confirms hematite corrosion product.
- Hematite nucleation initiates preferentially at the metal surface along grain boundaries.
Reference: Surabhi Agrawal, et al, MRS Advances. 8 376-380 (2023) DOI: 10.1557/s43580-023-00533-1
Image copyright © 2023 Springer Nature Limited
Nanoscale electrochemistry matching bulk-scale performance
Perform quantitative, repeatable operando electrochemistry while correlating nanoscale mechanisms with bulk-scale performance.
Nanoscale electrochemistry matching bulk-scale performance
Observe operando electrochemical processes and link observed mechanisms to macroscale conditions over many cycles using the Hummingbird Scientific Generation V bulk liquid-electrochemistry sample holders.
Operando cyclic voltammetry of Cu plating and stripping reproduces benchtop CV over many cycles
Cu metal was plated from CuSO4 on the working electrode and stripped over several repeated cycles using operando cyclic voltammetry under TEM.
- Operando CV scans closely resemble benchtop CV.
- Plating/stripping cycles can be repeated several times with no degradation
- Morphology of plated Cu crystals and dissolution dynamics can be linked to applied voltage.
Reference: Hummingbird Scientific internal data
Correlative operando electrocatalysis
Correlate electrocatalyst structure, chemistry, and performance using complementary in situ electron and X-ray microscopy techniques.
Correlative operando electrocatalysis
Observe in-situ electrocatalyst transformations using correlative liquid cell TEM, SEM, and synchrotron X-ray microscopy with Hummingbird Scientific Generation V bulk liquid-electrochemistry sample holders.
Nanocube catalyst microstructural evolution during nitrate reduction reaction
Cu2O nanocube catalyst restructuring and chemical changes under the nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR) were characterized in-situ using liquid electrochemical transmission electron microscopy (EC-TEM) correlated to liquid electrochemical transmission X-ray microscopy (EC-TXM). Ex-situ TEM imaging of the nanocubes was performed using the TEM tomography sample holder.
- Nanocubes evolved under NO3RR in distinct catalyst motifs that depend on the applied potential and chemical environment.
- Cu2O was stabilized alongside metallic copper for extended durations at -0.6 VRHE due to surface hydroxide formation, boosting ammonia selectivity.
- Time-resolved spectroscopy allowed morphological evolution to be linked to catalytic mechanisms under operating conditions
Reference: Aram Yoon, et al, Nature Materials 24, 762-769 (2025) DOI: 10.1038/s41563-024-02084-8
Image copyright © 2025, The Author(s). Published by Springer Nature Limited. This article is licensed under CC-BY 4.0.
Site-specific contact biasing of battery materials
Perform localized charge-discharge cycling while imaging structural and chemical transformations in battery materials.
Site-specific contact biasing of battery materials
Observe localized operando structural and chemical transformations to battery materials under contact bias charge-discharge cycling with the Hummingbird Scientific Biasing Nanomanipulator.
Liquid metal coating improves cycle performance of lithium metal oxide cathode
The effect of a gallium-based liquid metal (LM) coating on lithium metal LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (NCM) cathode cycle performance was investigated by characterizing microstructural evolution over many lithation and delithiation cycles.
- Localized contact biasing of the Li metal oxide cathode was performed with LM nanoparticles on the probe.
- The LM coating reduced galvanostatic charge-discharge overpotentials, improving cycle performance.
- The LM layer facilitated the decomposition of dendritic lithium, slowing degradation.
Reference: Supriya Koul, et al, J. Electrochem. Soc. 169 (2) 020542 (2022) DOI: 10.1149/1945-7111/ac4ea5
Image copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published on behalf of The Electrochemical Society by IOP
Chemical mapping of solid-electrolyte interphase
Correlate electrochemical performance with nanoscale structural and chemical evolution during battery cycling.
Chemical mapping of solid-electrolyte interphase
Analyze solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation and chemical evolution under charge-discharge cycling in a broad range of electrolytes while performing operando electrochemical measurements with Hummingbird Scientific Generation V bulk liquid-electrochemistry sample holders.
Operando nanoscale observation of dendrite growth and SEI evolution in lithium-ion batteries
SEI formation at the interface of graphite flakes on a Li-ion battery anode in lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄) electrolyte solution was characterized by in-situ scanning TEM (STEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS).
- The TEM holder enabled operando control of charge/discharge CV cycling.
- The dynamic growth of lithium (Li) and lithium hydride (LiH) dendrites within the SEI layer is captured over two lithiation-delithiation cycles.
- Multilayer Least Squares (MLLS) analysis decomposed the EELS spectra, allowing identification of distinct components.
Reference: Jared Lodico, et al, Science Advances 9 (28) (2023) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg5135
Image copyright © 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY).
Pre- and post-reaction TEM characterization
Correlate pristine and post-reaction catalyst structure and composition using high-resolution TEM characterization.
Liquid-Electrochemical battery processes
Correlate electrochemical performance with nanoscale structural and chemical evolution during battery cycling.
Inert transfer of air-sensitive materials
Preserve pristine air-sensitive materials during transfer and characterize their operando electrochemical behavior.
Operando liquid-phase electrochemical corrosion studies
Observe corrosion initiation, propagation, and material degradation during operando liquid-phase electrochemical reactions.
Nanoscale electrochemistry matching bulk-scale performance
Perform quantitative, repeatable operando electrochemistry while correlating nanoscale mechanisms with bulk-scale performance.
Correlative operando electrocatalysis
Correlate electrocatalyst structure, chemistry, and performance using complementary in situ electron and X-ray microscopy techniques.
Site-specific contact biasing of battery materials
Perform localized charge-discharge cycling while imaging structural and chemical transformations in battery materials.
Chemical mapping of solid-electrolyte interphase
Correlate electrochemical performance with nanoscale structural and chemical evolution during battery cycling.
Browse publications
ChemRxiv
ChemRxiv
Journal of The Electrochemical Society
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Research Spotlight
Video of alternating reduction/oxidation steps to induce the stabilized growth of cube-shaped Cu nanoscubes from precursor solution. The corresponding operando voltage (blue) and current (red) responses are plotted, showing the periodic alternation between oxidation and reduction.
Operando electrodeposition of Cu nanocubes to investigate synthesis mechanisms
Because electrocatalyst selectivity is highly dependent on nanoparticle microstructure and morphology, optimization of electrocatalytic synthesis requires careful tuning of the applied voltage and precursor ion concentration. The SEM Generation V Bulk Liquid Electrochemistry sample holder enables reproducible connection of electrochemical cycling, temperature, and beam conditions to nanoparticle synthesis pathways.
The video shows reversible growth and dissolution of Cu nanocubes (NCs) that grow in precursor solution synced to the applied voltage and current cycling, directly correlating applied electrical conditions with morphological evolution. Chloride ion concentration, redox timing ratios, and number of deposition cycles were tuned to control NC shape, size, and yield.
Hummingbird Advantage
- Bulk reference and counter electrodes allow direct extrapolation of observed growth pathways to bulk synthesis process design.
- Robust off-chip electrodes minimize electrode degradation over many electrochemical cycles.
- Transmission liquid cell allows higher quality SEM imaging using the transmission electron detector.
Reference: Philipp Grosse, et al, J. Phys. Chem. C (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c09105
Video Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Why Hummingbird Scientific for
Electrochemistry
research?
Hummingbird Scientific supports in situ and operando electrochemistry research with flexible microscopy platforms, customizable sample chips, direct scientist support, internal TEM lab expertise, and in-house engineering and manufacturing capabilities.
Broader options for in situ electrochemistry experiments
Electrochemistry research spans battery cycling, electrocatalysis, corrosion, electroplating, electrochemical synthesis, ionic transport, solid-state devices, and photoelectrochemistry. Hummingbird Scientific supports these applications by offering TEM, SEM, and X-ray microscopy platforms for electrical biasing, heating, cryogenic biasing, nanomanipulation, site-specific electrical measurements, and liquid-phase electrochemistry. Advanced liquid-cell systems also feature heating, optical stimulation, and/or off-chip bulk reference and counter electrodes to deliver benchtop-quality three-electrode electrochemistry inside electron microscopes, X-ray microscopes, and synchrotron beamlines, enabling researchers to match the platform to their application and experimental requirements.
More chip choices for experimental flexibility
Microfabricated chip design defines the reaction environment and analytical performance of electrochemistry experiments. Through our dedicated microfabrication division, Hummingbird develops standard and custom chips for liquid-phase electrochemistry, heating, and electrical biasing, with configurable electrode layouts, materials, spacer thicknesses, window geometries, and sample architectures. Specialized MEMS chips support vacuum biasing and heating experiments from -170 °C to beyond 1000 °C, depending on the holder configuration, while cross-platform compatibility enables the same sample to be analyzed across TEM, SEM, and synchrotron X-ray microscopy.
Scientist support backed by an internal TEM Lab
Electrochemistry researchers work directly with scientists and technical staff who understand the practical details of in situ and operando TEM workflows. Hummingbird’s internal TEM Lab allows our team to evaluate microscope-facing performance during development, including alignment, handling, imaging stability, sample-environment behavior, and workflow usability under real TEM conditions.
Engineering, production, and custom capability
Hummingbird's in-house capabilities connect engineering, microfabrication, manufacturing, assembly, calibration, and testing within one development process. For electrochemistry research, that means standard products can be supported by custom chips and holder configurations, and application-specific workflow changes when the experiment requires something more specific.
Pre- and post-reaction TEM characterization
Correlate pristine and post-reaction catalyst structure and composition using high-resolution TEM characterization.
Pre- and post-reaction TEM characterization
Characterize pristine samples and post-reaction products directly on experimental chips with the Hummingbird Scientific TEM tomography sample holder.
Postmortem analysis with tomography holder supplements in-situ liquid electrochemical TEM
Cu2O nanocubes were characterized using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) before and after in-situ CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR).
- Fragmentation and redeposition, detachment and aggregation were observed under CO2RR.
- The ultra stable tomography holder supplemented in-situ results with high quality post-mortem EDS revealing reduced O and Cl signal.
- Interchangeable tomography holder tips are available to accommodate chips from liquid electrochemical experiments.
Reference: Philipp Grosse, et al, Nature Communications 12, 6736 (2021) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26743-5
Image copyright © 2021 Springer Nature Limited
Liquid-Electrochemical battery processes
Correlate electrochemical performance with nanoscale structural and chemical evolution during battery cycling.
Liquid-Electrochemical battery processes
Observe in-situ charge-discharge cycling in a broad range of liquid electrolytes while performing operando electrochemical measurements with Hummingbird Scientific Generation V bulk liquid-electrochemistry sample holders.
Strain-associated lithium transport in single crystalline NMC battery particles
Single crystalline LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (scNMC) particles were characterized using operando scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) combined with post-cycling Bragg coherent diffraction X-ray imaging to uncover strain-associated lithium transport dynamics.
- Lithium transport occurred counter to concentration gradients.
- Near-uniform yet fluctuating lithium dense and poor regions were observed during cycling.
- Management of lithium-poor surface regions may improve rate performances.
Reference: Danwon Lee, et al, Nature Communications 16, 9018 (2025) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64068-9
Image copyright © 2025 Springer Nature Limited
Inert transfer of air-sensitive materials
Preserve pristine air-sensitive materials during transfer and characterize their operando electrochemical behavior.
Inert transfer of air-sensitive materials
Observe operando structural and chemical transformations in air-sensitive battery materials during charge-discharge cycling with the Hummingbird Scientific MEMS air-free transfer biasing sample holder.
Cr-LiF as a High Energy Density Conversion-Type Cathode for Li-ion Solid-State Batteries
Lithiated Cr-LiF thin film transition-metal fluoride cathodes were deposited with a controllable stoichiometric ratio and characterized in-situ during cycling electrical cycling.
- Cr-LiF with a 1:1.2 ratio produced a heterogeneous thin film that outperformed Fe-LiF analogs.
- Operando measurements and first-principles calculations indicate CrF2 is the dominant delithiated phase.
- Capacity falls from 435 mAh/g to only 208 mAh/g over 1500 cycles.
Reference: Joel Casella, et al, Communications Materials 7 113 (2026) DOI: 10.1038/s43246-026-01121-0
Image copyright © 2026 Springer Nature Limited
Operando liquid-phase electrochemical corrosion studies
Observe corrosion initiation, propagation, and material degradation during operando liquid-phase electrochemical reactions.
Operando liquid-phase electrochemical corrosion studies
Observe corrosion mechanisms in situ at elevated temperature and under applied bias with Hummingbird Scientific Generation V bulk liquid-electrochemistry sample holders.
In-situ iron corrosion in brine observed to initiate favorably along grain boundaries, transition to 2D spread
Structural evolution of a 50 nm iron thin film was characterized using in-situ TEM under exposure to 0.1 NaCl brine with corrosion product confirmed by selected area electron diffraction (SAED).
- Dissolution of the iron film and nucleation of corrosion products is captured in real time.
- In-situ selected area electron diffraction (SAED) confirms hematite corrosion product.
- Hematite nucleation initiates preferentially at the metal surface along grain boundaries.
Reference: Surabhi Agrawal, et al, MRS Advances. 8 376-380 (2023) DOI: 10.1557/s43580-023-00533-1
Image copyright © 2023 Springer Nature Limited
Nanoscale electrochemistry matching bulk-scale performance
Perform quantitative, repeatable operando electrochemistry while correlating nanoscale mechanisms with bulk-scale performance.
Nanoscale electrochemistry matching bulk-scale performance
Observe operando electrochemical processes and link observed mechanisms to macroscale conditions over many cycles using the Hummingbird Scientific Generation V bulk liquid-electrochemistry sample holders.
Operando cyclic voltammetry of Cu plating and stripping reproduces benchtop CV over many cycles
Cu metal was plated from CuSO4 on the working electrode and stripped over several repeated cycles using operando cyclic voltammetry under TEM.
- Operando CV scans closely resemble benchtop CV.
- Plating/stripping cycles can be repeated several times with no degradation
- Morphology of plated Cu crystals and dissolution dynamics can be linked to applied voltage.
Reference: Hummingbird Scientific internal data
Correlative operando electrocatalysis
Correlate electrocatalyst structure, chemistry, and performance using complementary in situ electron and X-ray microscopy techniques.
Correlative operando electrocatalysis
Observe in-situ electrocatalyst transformations using correlative liquid cell TEM, SEM, and synchrotron X-ray microscopy with Hummingbird Scientific Generation V bulk liquid-electrochemistry sample holders.
Nanocube catalyst microstructural evolution during nitrate reduction reaction
Cu2O nanocube catalyst restructuring and chemical changes under the nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR) were characterized in-situ using liquid electrochemical transmission electron microscopy (EC-TEM) correlated to liquid electrochemical transmission X-ray microscopy (EC-TXM). Ex-situ TEM imaging of the nanocubes was performed using the TEM tomography sample holder.
- Nanocubes evolved under NO3RR in distinct catalyst motifs that depend on the applied potential and chemical environment.
- Cu2O was stabilized alongside metallic copper for extended durations at -0.6 VRHE due to surface hydroxide formation, boosting ammonia selectivity.
- Time-resolved spectroscopy allowed morphological evolution to be linked to catalytic mechanisms under operating conditions
Reference: Aram Yoon, et al, Nature Materials 24, 762-769 (2025) DOI: 10.1038/s41563-024-02084-8
Image copyright © 2025, The Author(s). Published by Springer Nature Limited. This article is licensed under CC-BY 4.0.
Site-specific contact biasing of battery materials
Perform localized charge-discharge cycling while imaging structural and chemical transformations in battery materials.
Site-specific contact biasing of battery materials
Observe localized operando structural and chemical transformations to battery materials under contact bias charge-discharge cycling with the Hummingbird Scientific Biasing Nanomanipulator.
Liquid metal coating improves cycle performance of lithium metal oxide cathode
The effect of a gallium-based liquid metal (LM) coating on lithium metal LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (NCM) cathode cycle performance was investigated by characterizing microstructural evolution over many lithation and delithiation cycles.
- Localized contact biasing of the Li metal oxide cathode was performed with LM nanoparticles on the probe.
- The LM coating reduced galvanostatic charge-discharge overpotentials, improving cycle performance.
- The LM layer facilitated the decomposition of dendritic lithium, slowing degradation.
Reference: Supriya Koul, et al, J. Electrochem. Soc. 169 (2) 020542 (2022) DOI: 10.1149/1945-7111/ac4ea5
Image copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published on behalf of The Electrochemical Society by IOP
Chemical mapping of solid-electrolyte interphase
Correlate electrochemical performance with nanoscale structural and chemical evolution during battery cycling.
Chemical mapping of solid-electrolyte interphase
Analyze solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation and chemical evolution under charge-discharge cycling in a broad range of electrolytes while performing operando electrochemical measurements with Hummingbird Scientific Generation V bulk liquid-electrochemistry sample holders.
Operando nanoscale observation of dendrite growth and SEI evolution in lithium-ion batteries
SEI formation at the interface of graphite flakes on a Li-ion battery anode in lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄) electrolyte solution was characterized by in-situ scanning TEM (STEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS).
- The TEM holder enabled operando control of charge/discharge CV cycling.
- The dynamic growth of lithium (Li) and lithium hydride (LiH) dendrites within the SEI layer is captured over two lithiation-delithiation cycles.
- Multilayer Least Squares (MLLS) analysis decomposed the EELS spectra, allowing identification of distinct components.
Reference: Jared Lodico, et al, Science Advances 9 (28) (2023) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg5135
Image copyright © 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY).
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