Visualizing Trace Pollutants in Solids at Nanoscale via Electron Tomography.

Visualizing trace pollutants such as toxic metals and viruses in environmental solids such as soils, sediments, aerosols, and suspended particles in water has long been the holy grail for scientists and engineers. In this Perspective, progress on the state-of-the-art electron tomography is highlighted as an increasingly indispensable tool for visualizing contaminant distribution and transformation in three-dimension (3D), including environmental pollutants at the water-minerals interfaces, toxicology assessment, environmental behavior of viruses in heterogeneous environmental media, etc. Adding a third dimension to the pollutant characterization will surely enrich our understanding on the complex and emerging environmental issues facing the global society, and provide vital support to the ongoing research and development of life-saving mitigation technologies from air filtration, to drinking water purification, to virus disinfection.