Quantum enabled in-situ imaging of chemical reactions

In-situ observation of chemical reactions with high sensitivity and high spatiotemporal resolution is a long-standing challenge. Here we introduce a generalized microscopy, namely Quantum-enabled Chemical Operando Microscopy (QCOM), which intrinsically measures the chemical reaction by transforming the accompanied local physical quantity changes into dynamic imaging contrast using atomic-scale quantum sensors. QCOM simultaneously satisfies detection sensitivity (~5 free radicals), spatial resolution (~102 nm), and temporal resolution (~ms). This enables the first direct, quantitative, spatiotemporal, operando imaging of free radicals during photocatalytic reactions, which unveils an unexpected 'sequential activation' effect. We further demonstrate the quantum enabled multi-physical imaging of a diverse range of chemical reactions. Our work bridges quantum sensing with chemical reaction imaging, offering an unprecedented, comprehensive in-situ methodology for revealing the 'hidden' spatiotemporal phenomena in chemistry.