STM and AFM high resolution intramolecular imaging of a single decastarphene molecule

• Published in: Chemical physics letters Vol. 511; no. 4; pp. 482 - 485
• Main Authors: Guillermet, Olivier, Gauthier, Sébastien, Joachim, Christian, de Mendoza, Paula, Lauterbach, Thorsten, Echavarren, Antonio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 05.08.2011
• ISSN: 0009-2614; 1873-4448
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2011.06.079

[Display omitted] ► We imaged decastarphene molecules adsorbed on NaCl/Cu(1 1 1) by STM and nc-AFM. ► STM provides electron density maps of the frontier molecular orbitals. ► nc-AFM provides images of the molecular skeleton. ► Combining these two information is important to precise the interpretation of the STM images of molecular orbitals. Single decastarphene molecules, adsorbed on Cu(1 1 1) and on a bilayer of NaCl/Cu(1 1 1) are imaged by a combination of low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and dynamic atomic force microscopy in the non-contact mode (nc-AFM). This dual imaging technique provides the intramolecular electron density maps of the frontier molecular orbitals via the STM images and the atomic scale skeleton via its constant-height frequency shift nc-AFM images. Recording both images at the same time opens the way to exactly locate the valence states electronic density map of the imaged molecule on its atomic scale skeleton.