Intermolecular Contrast in Atomic Force Microscopy Images without Intermolecular Bonds
Files
Publication date
2014-10-31
Authors
Hämäläinen, Sampsa K.
van der Heijden, Nadine
Van Der Lit, Joost
den Hartog, Stephan
Liljeroth, P.
Swart, Ingmar
Editors
Advisors
Supervisors
Document Type
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
License
Abstract
Intermolecular features in atomic force microscopy 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 atomic force microscopy 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.
Keywords
Citation
Hämäläinen, S K, van der Heijden, N J, van der Lit, J, den Hartog, S, Liljeroth, P & Swart, I 2014, 'Intermolecular Contrast in Atomic Force Microscopy Images without Intermolecular Bonds', Physical Review Letters, vol. 113, no. 18, 186102. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.186102