Interactions between two C60 molecules measured by scanning probe microscopies

Abstract

C60-functionalized tips are used to probe C60 molecules on Cu(111) with scanning tunneling and atomic force microscopy. Distinct and complex intramolecular contrasts are found. Maximal attractive forces are observed when for both molecules a [6,6] bond faces a hexagon of the other molecule. Density functional theory calculations including parameterized van der Waals interactions corroborate the observations.

6 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (3)

• Intermolecular contrast in atomic force microscopy images without intermolecular bonds
• Passing current through touching molecules
• Force and Conductance during contact formation to a C60 molecule