Nitrous oxide as an effective AFM tip functionalization: a comparative study

Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology

Bruno de la Torre^1^2¹  Taras Chutora^1² 

[1] Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Cukrovarnická 10, 162 00 Prague, Czech Republic^2;Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Šlechtitelů 27, 78371 Olomouc, Czech Republic^1

关键词: atomic force microscopy;    Au(111);    carbon monoxide;    functionalization;    high resolution;    nitrous oxide;    submolecular resolution;   

DOI  :  10.3762/bjnano.10.30

学科分类：地球科学(综合)

来源: Beilstein - Institut zur Foerderung der Chemischen Wissenschaften

【 摘 要 】

We investigate the possibility of functionalizing Au tips by N₂O molecules deposited on a Au(111) surface and their further use for imaging with submolecular resolution. First, we characterize the adsorption of the N₂O species on Au(111) by means of atomic force microscopy with CO-functionalized tips and density functional theory (DFT) simulations. Subsequently we devise a method of attaching a single N₂O to a metal tip apex and benchmark its high-resolution imaging and spectroscopic capabilities using FePc molecules. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of high-resolution imaging. However, we find an inherent asymmetry of the N₂O probe-particle adsorption on the tip apex, in contrast to a CO tip reference. These findings are consistent with DFT calculations of the N₂O- and CO tip apexes.

【 授权许可】

CC BY