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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Precise orientation of a single C60 molecule on the tip of a scanning probe microscope
AU - Chiutu, C.
AU - Sweetman, A. M.
AU - Lakin, A. J.
AU - Stannard, A.
AU - Jarvis, S.
AU - Kantorovich, L.
AU - Dunn, J. L.
AU - Moriarty, P.
PY - 2012/6/26
Y1 - 2012/6/26
N2 - We show that the precise orientation of a C-60 molecule which terminates the tip of a scanning probe microscope can be determined with atomic precision from submolecular contrast images of the fullerene cage. A comparison of experimental scanning tunneling microscopy data with images simulated using computationally inexpensive Huckel theory provides a robust method of identifying molecular rotation and tilt at the end of the probe microscope tip. Noncontact atomic force microscopy resolves the atoms of the C-60 cage closest to the surface for a range of molecular orientations at tip-sample separations where the molecule-substrate interaction potential is weakly attractive. Measurements of the C-60-C-60 pair potential acquired using a fullerene-terminated tip are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions based on a pairwise summation of the van der Waals interactions between C atoms in each cage, i.e., the Girifalco potential [L. Girifalco, J. Phys. Chem. 95, 5370 (1991)].
AB - We show that the precise orientation of a C-60 molecule which terminates the tip of a scanning probe microscope can be determined with atomic precision from submolecular contrast images of the fullerene cage. A comparison of experimental scanning tunneling microscopy data with images simulated using computationally inexpensive Huckel theory provides a robust method of identifying molecular rotation and tilt at the end of the probe microscope tip. Noncontact atomic force microscopy resolves the atoms of the C-60 cage closest to the surface for a range of molecular orientations at tip-sample separations where the molecule-substrate interaction potential is weakly attractive. Measurements of the C-60-C-60 pair potential acquired using a fullerene-terminated tip are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions based on a pairwise summation of the van der Waals interactions between C atoms in each cage, i.e., the Girifalco potential [L. Girifalco, J. Phys. Chem. 95, 5370 (1991)].
KW - ab-initio
KW - atomic-force microscopy
KW - resolution
KW - spectroscopy
KW - surface
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.268302
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.268302
M3 - Journal article
VL - 108
JO - Physical review letters
JF - Physical review letters
SN - 0031-9007
IS - 26
M1 - 268302
ER -