Intermolecular artifacts in probe microscope images of C60 assemblies

Jarvis, Samuel Paul; Rashid, Mohammad Abdur; Sweetman, Adam; Leaf, Jeremy; Taylor, Simon; Moriarty, Philip; Dunn, Janette

Abstract

Claims that dynamic force microscopy has the capability to resolve intermolecular bonds in real space continue to be vigorously debated. To date, studies have been restricted to planar molecular assemblies with small separations between neighboring molecules. Here we report the observation of intermolecular artifacts over much larger distances in 2D assemblies of C60 molecules, with compelling evidence that in our case the tip apex is terminated by a C60 molecule (rather than the CO termination typically exploited in ultrahigh resolution force microscopy). The complete absence of directional interactions such as hydrogen or halogen bonding, the nonplanar structure of C60, and the fullerene termination of the tip apex in our case highlight that intermolecular artifacts are ubiquitous in dynamic force microscopy.

Citation

Jarvis, S. P., Rashid, M. A., Sweetman, A., Leaf, J., Taylor, S., Moriarty, P., & Dunn, J. (2015). Intermolecular artifacts in probe microscope images of C60 assemblies. Physical review B: Condensed matter and materials physics, 92(24), https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.92.241405

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 15, 2015
• Deposit Date: Feb 16, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 16, 2016
• Journal: Physical Review B
• Print ISSN: 1098-0121
• Electronic ISSN: 1550-235X
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 92
• Issue: 24
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.92.241405
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/769294
• Publisher URL: http://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.92.241405