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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Covalent Attachment of Single Molecules for AFM-based Force Spectroscopy
Published on: March 16, 2020
Contact formation dynamics: Mapping chemical bond formation between a molecule and a metallic probe
Borislav Naydenov1, Lucile C Teague, Peter Ryan
1School of Chemistry and the Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN), Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Abstract:
We present a study that maps out chemical bond formation between a Pt-inked probe and a single 1,3-cyclohexadiene (1,3-CHD) molecule on Si(100). By separating the mechanical and electronic contributions to the current during the approach to contact, we show that there are significant forces between the probe and the C=C of the molecule and we track the relaxation of the molecule, the emergence of a chemical bond feature in the LDOS, and the quenching of specific molecular vibrations during bond formation.
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