Structure determination of small molecule compounds by an electron diffractometer for 3D ED/MicroED

Abstract

3D electron diffraction (3D ED)/Micro electron diffraction (MicroED) has extended the limits of crystallography by enabling the determination of three dimensional molecular structures from sub-μm microcrystals. However, 3D ED/microED measurements using current state-of-the-art electron microscopes require experts in both electron microscopy and crystallography making the method rather difficult for researchers who simply need structures. Here, we present a diffractometer specifically designed for 3D ED/microED and show how it works for determining crystal structures. The newly developed electron diffractometer will provide many researchers with an easy path to structure determination of crystals that are less than 1 μm in size.