Insights gained from the particle's structure could lead to new ways to improve its magnetic performance for use in high-density, next-generation hard drives.

The 3-D reconstruction reveals the arrangement of atoms in unprecedented detail, enabling the scientists to measure chemical order and disorder in individual grains, which sheds light on the material's properties at the single-atom level. Insights gained from the particle's structure could lead to new ways to improve its magnetic performance for use in high-density, next-generation hard drives.

What's more, the technique used to create the reconstruction, atomic electron tomography (which is like an incredibly high-resolution CT scan), lays the foundation for precisely mapping the atomic composition of other useful nanoparticles. This could reveal how to optimize the particles for more efficient catalysts, stronger materials, and disease-detecting fluorescent tags.