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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Probing Surface Electrochemical Activity of Nanomaterials using a Hybrid Atomic Force Microscope-Scanning Electrochemical Microscope (AFM-SECM)

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Published on: February 10, 2021

Mapping the electronic surface potential of nanostructured surfaces.

P Ruffieux¹, K Aït-Mansour, A Bendounan

¹Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Feuerwerkerstrasse 39, 3602 Thun, Switzerland. pascal.ruffieux@empa.ch

Physical Review Letters

|March 5, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

We developed a scanning tunneling spectroscopy method to map nanostructured surfaces. This technique reveals how surface potential differences guide the selective adsorption of molecules like C60 fullerenes.

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Area of Science:

Surface science
Nanotechnology
Scanning probe microscopy

Background:

Understanding nanostructured surfaces is crucial for designing advanced materials.
Local variations in surface potential significantly influence molecular adsorption.
Existing methods lack the resolution to precisely map these potential variations.

Purpose of the Study:

To present a novel method for quantitatively determining the surface potential landscape of nanostructured surfaces.
To investigate the site-specific adsorption properties of a silver-on-platinum nanostructure.
To demonstrate the role of surface potential in selective molecular immobilization.

Main Methods:

Quantitative determination of surface potential using local analysis of lowest field emission resonances.
Application of scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS).
Achieving a lateral resolution of approximately 1 nm.

Main Results:

The developed method provides a lateral resolution of ~1 nm.
Site-specific adsorption properties of a strain relief pattern (Ag on Pt(111)) were elucidated.
A surface potential difference of up to 0.35 eV was measured across the nanostructure.
This potential difference was shown to be responsible for the selective immobilization of C60 fullerenes.

Conclusions:

The STS-based method enables precise mapping of surface potential on nanostructured surfaces.
Surface potential variations are key determinants of molecular adsorption sites.
This technique offers new possibilities for controlling molecular assembly and surface functionalization.