Core-shell Nanoparticle Structure (IMAGE) DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Caption The L12 structure is shown at lower left, with aluminum atoms in gray and scandium or lithium atoms reddish green. In images of a core-shell nanoparticle made by NCEM’s TEAM microscope, each dot shows the top of a column of atoms; the kinds of atoms in each column can be calculated from the brightness and contrast of the dots. The aluminum matrix has a face-centered cubic structure in which all the atoms are aluminum, while in the L12 structure the face-centered positions are also aluminum. But in the core of the nanoparticle (upper right), the columns at the corners of the L12 unit cell are a mix of aluminum, lithium, and scandium atoms, while in the surrounding shell (lower right), the corner columns are a mix of aluminum and lithium. Credit Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.