Intermolecular contrast in atomic force microscopy images without intermolecular bonds

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.

References in corpus (2)

• The mechanism of high-resolution STM/AFM imaging with functionalized tips
• CO Tip Functionalization Inverts Atomic Force Microscopy Contrast via Short-Range Electrostatic Forces

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