Intelligent Molecular Tips for Chemically Sensitive Atomic Force Microscopy under High Resolution

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The interdisciplinary project Intelligent Molecular Tips for Chemically Sensitive Atomic Force Microscopy under High Resolution is based on the basics of chemical, physical and material science. Organic synthesis chemistry is used for the manufacturing of new molecules, which form attractive interactions with metal atoms and thus provide effective coordination. The interaction of these molecules with the metal atoms is exploited to allow a controlled transfer to nanometer-sized metallic tips. The metallic tip (probe) is guided in a way similar to a needle printer over a sample (atoms, molecules) and physical interactions/forces between the sample and tip are registered. A direct image of the surface can be created from the registered signals. An interaction between a single atom of the metallic tip and the sample surface is necessary to ensure the visibility of individual atoms (high resolution). This is currently solely achievable in an uncontrolled manner, time-consuming and not directly reproducible through nonselective functionalization with individual atoms or small molecules in ultrahigh vacuum, since the metallic tips themselves do not have an atomically sharp geometry. The proposed molecules have the potential to provide a controlled and simplified transfer, to improve the stability of prepared tips compared to currently established standards and to pave the way for sophisticated imaging on atomic scale of more complex structures (e.g. natural products, microcrystalline materials).