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Updated: Jul 24, 2026

Hand Controlled Manipulation of Single Molecules via a Scanning Probe Microscope with a 3D Virtual Reality Interface
Published on: October 2, 2016
Mapping the site-specific potential energy landscape for chemisorbed and physisorbed aromatic molecules on the
D Lock1, S Sakulsermsuk, R E Palmer
1Department of Physics, University of Bath, North East Somerset BA2 7AY, UK.
Abstract:
We present a scanning tunnelling microscope study of site-specific thermal displacement (desorption or diffusion) of benzene, toluene, and chlorobenzene molecules on the Si(1 1 1)-7 × 7 surface. Through time-lapse STM imaging and automated image analysis we probe both the chemisorbed and the physisorbed states of these molecules. For the chemisorption to physisorption transition there are distinct site-specific variations in the measured rates, however their kinetic origin is ambiguous. There is also significant variation in the competing rates out of the physisorbed state into chemisorption at the various surface sites, which we attribute to differences in site-specific Arrhenius pre-factors. A prediction of the outcome of the competing rates and pre-factors for benzene over three hours matches experiment.
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