Abstract
The underlying mechanisms of image distortions in atomic force microscopy (AFM) with CO-terminated tips are identified and studied in detail. AFM measurements of a partially fluorinated hydrocarbon molecule recorded with a CO-terminated tip are compared with state-of-the-art ab initio calculations. The hydrogenated and fluorinated carbon rings in the molecule appear different in size, which primarily originates from the different extents of their π-electrons. Further, tilting of the CO at the tip, induced by van der Waals forces, enlarges the apparent size of parts of the molecule by up to 50%. Moreover, the CO tilting in response to local Pauli repulsion causes a significant sharpening of the molecule bonds in AFM imaging.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 6127-6131 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Nano letters |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 12 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2014 American Chemical Society.
Keywords
- NC-AFM
- Single molecule