Intermolecular contrast in atomic force microscopy images without intermolecular bonds
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
2014-11-04 v2
Abstract
Intermolecular features in atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of organic molecules have been ascribed to intermolecular bonds. A recent theoretical study [P. Hapala et al., Phys. Rev. B 90, 085421 (2014)] showed that these features can also be explained by the flexibility of molecule terminated tips. We probe this effect by carrying out AFM experiments on a model system that contains regions where intermolecular bonds should and should not exist between close-by molecules. Intermolecular features are observed in both regions, demonstrating that intermolecular contrast cannot be directly interpreted as intermolecular bonds.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1410.1933,
title = {Intermolecular contrast in atomic force microscopy images without intermolecular bonds},
author = {Sampsa K. Häm"aläinen and Nadine van der Heijden and Joost van der Lit and Stephan den Hartog and Peter Liljeroth and Ingmar Swart},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1410.1933},
year = {2014}
}