Abstract
Nanocomposites made out of FeCo alloy nanocrystals supported onto pre-formed mesoporous ordered silica which features a cubic arrangement of pores (SBA-16) were investigated. Information on the effect of the nanocrystals on the mesostructure (i.e. pore arrangement symmetry, pore size, and shape) were deduced by a multitechnique approach including N2 physisorption, low angle X-ray diffraction, and Transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that advanced transmission electron microscopy techniques are required, however, to gain direct evidence on key compositional and textural features of the nanocomposites. In particular, electron tomography and microtomy techniques make clear that the FeCo nanocrystals are located within the pores of the SBA-16 silica, and that the ordered mesostructure of the nanocomposite is retained throughout the observed specimen.