Electrons for single molecule diffraction and imaging

We demonstrate the potential of electrons for single molecule diffraction and imaging using C60 molecules confined inside single-walled carbon nanotubes (C60s@SWCNT or peapod) as a model system. A 25 nm diameter electron beam from a field emission gun source is used to record diffraction patterns from individual peapods using imaging plates. The electron beam illuminates about 25 C60 molecules. Experimentally, we found that the molecules diffract inside ∼15% of the host nanotubes. With the help of simulations, we explore the limits of electron molecular diffraction and its sensitivity to the molecular configurations. We show that the combination of electron diffraction and electron direct imaging provides the best approach to single molecule imaging. -- Highlights: ► Electron diffraction of C60 molecules inside a single-walled carbon nanotube is demonstrated. ► Electron diffraction sensitivity is discussed and compared with imaging sensitivity. ► A combination of diffraction and imaging is proposed for single molecule imaging.