X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has achieved maturity as an analytical technique in the materials community, however as made apparent by recent reviews highlighting it's misuse, it is a practice which is often misunderstood.

Methylammonium chloride (MACl) selectively promotes the formation of N-methylformamidinium (MFA⁺)PbI₃ at grain boundaries (GBs) and as clusters near GBs while suppress the formation of δ-FAPbI_3.

Over the last decade remarkable advances have been made in creating spectroscopic tools to interrogate surface properties using electromagnetic radiation in the near field, achieving lateral resolutions in the nanometre range.

The control of the growth of hematite nanoparticles from iron chloride solutions under hydrothermal conditions in the presence of two different structure promoters has been studied using a range of both structural and spectroscopic techniques including the first report of photo induced force microscopy (PiFM) to map the topographic distribution of the structure-directing agents on the developing nanoparticles. We show that the shape of the nanoparticles can be controlled using the concentration of phosphate ions up to a limit determined to be ~6 × 10⁻³ mol. Akaganéite (β-FeOOH) is a major component of the nanoparticles formed in the absence of structure directors but only present in the very early stages (< 8 h) of particle growth when phosphate is present. The PiFM data suggest a correlation between the areas in which phosphate ions are adsorbed and areas where akaganéite persists on the surface. In contrast, goethite (α-FeOOH) is a directly observed precursor of the hematite nanorods when 1,2-diamino propane is present. The PiFM data shows goethite in the center of the developing particles consistent with a mechanism in which the iron hydroxide re-dissolves and precipitates at the nanorod ends as hematite.

A detailed comparison of the capabilities of electron microscopy and nano-infrared (IR) microscopy for imaging microbial nanostructures has been carried out for the first time.

The one-pot, shape selective synthesis of cerium phosphate nanorods has been explored and developed to give nanoparticles with aspect ratios between 3–24.8.