{
  "abstract": "In situ monitoring of reactions with chemical specificity and nanometer-scale spatial resolution under aqueous conditions remains a long-standing experimental challenge. Here, we use thin SiC membrane-enabled liquid-phase infrared nanoimaging and nanospectroscopy to monitor Ca$^{2+}$/Na$^{+}$ ion exchange in a mixture of disodium terephthalate and CaCl$_2$ solution. Beneath the membrane, we follow the formation of calcium terephthalate (CaTP), a metal-organic framework (MOF)-type coordination phase in which terephthalate ligands link Ca$^{2+}$ centers. The symmetric and asymmetric carboxylate stretching modes serve as chemically specific near-field reporters of Ca$^{2+}$ coordination to the terephthalate linkers. Nano-FTIR spectra reveal pronounced peak shifts and linewidth changes in these vibrational modes, indicating modification of the carboxylate coordination environment during CaTP formation. Complementary near-field nanoimaging resolves the emergence of nanoscale precipitates beneath the SiC membrane following CaCl$_2$ injection, providing spatially resolved evidence of the formation of the CaTP coordination framework. Solid-phase nanoimaging and nanospectroscopy identify well-defined CaTP particles, providing further evidence for crystalline CaTP formation. We demonstrate that the chemistry of metal-ligand interactions can be monitored in situ via liquid-phase near-field nanoscopy. This capability could enable the study of catalytic, electrochemical, and biological processes under native aqueous conditions.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.13493",
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Wassie M. Takele"
    },
    {
      "name": "Teferi Sitotaw Yallew"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mason Caron"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yohannes Abate"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/02hy89p8sa59s.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.13493",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "02hy89p8sa59s",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.13493",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mes-hall"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.soft"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2204|Near-Field Optical Microscopy"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213225251",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.13493",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-11",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/02hy89p8sa59s.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:25Z",
      "native_id": "2609.13493",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.13493"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.mes-hall",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Liquid-Phase Near-Field Infrared Nanoscopy of Ion-Exchange Reactions",
  "title_text": "Liquid-Phase Near-Field Infrared Nanoscopy of Ion-Exchange Reactions",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:21:25Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/02hy89p8sa59s",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}