Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Atomic Force Microscopy

Atomic Force Microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a type of scanning probe microscopy that can analyze topographic details of various specimens like ceramics, glass, polymers, and biological samples. AFM offers over 1000 times more resolution than the optical imaging system. Images generated from AFM are three-dimensional surface profiles, offering an advantage over the flat, two-dimensional images from other imaging techniques.
The AFM Probe
The probe is regarded as the heart of any AFM setup and comprises the...

Overview of Microscopy Techniques

Overview of Microscopy Techniques

The early pioneers of microscopy opened a window into the invisible world of microorganisms. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes that leveraged nonvisible light, such as fluorescence microscopy that uses an ultraviolet light source and electron microscopy that uses short-wavelength electron beams. These advances significantly improved magnification, image resolution, and contrast. By comparison, the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Spin State in Au Porphyrins Modulated by Charge Transfer on Au(111).

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

Br-Mediated Spin-State Control in Nickelocene and Cobaltocene.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

Integrated AI Framework for Room-Temperature Atom Manipulation in Scanning Probe Microscopy.

Nano letters·2025

Same author

On-Surface Synthesis of Azobenzene-Linked Porphyrin Derivatives.

The journal of physical chemistry letters·2025

Same author

Systematic C-C Bond Cleavage in Oligomers via Diels-Alder Reaction on Au(111).

ACS nano·2025

Same author

Spin States of Trioxotriangulene Controlled by Si-O Bond Formation and Dissociation on AuSi<sub><i>x</i></sub> Surfaces.

Nano letters·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 12, 2025

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

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

Published on: February 10, 2021

Exploring partially reduced CeO 2 (111) surface at the atomic scale using scanning probe microscopy.

Kyungmin Kim¹, Masayuki Abe¹, Shigeki Kawai²

¹Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Japan.

Science and Technology of Advanced Materials

|August 5, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study uses advanced microscopy to identify Ce3+ atoms on cerium dioxide surfaces. These findings offer new insights into the atomic-level chemistry of catalytic materials.

Keywords:

Ce3+Metal oxide surface atomic force microscopy ceria force spectroscopy scanning tunneling microscopy

More Related Videos

Probing C84-embedded Si Substrate Using Scanning Probe Microscopy and Molecular Dynamics

Probing C84-embedded Si Substrate Using Scanning Probe Microscopy and Molecular Dynamics

Published on: September 28, 2016

Probing and Mapping Electrode Surfaces in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Probing and Mapping Electrode Surfaces in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Published on: September 20, 2012

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 12, 2025

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

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

Published on: February 10, 2021

Probing C84-embedded Si Substrate Using Scanning Probe Microscopy and Molecular Dynamics

Probing C84-embedded Si Substrate Using Scanning Probe Microscopy and Molecular Dynamics

Published on: September 28, 2016

Probing and Mapping Electrode Surfaces in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Probing and Mapping Electrode Surfaces in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Published on: September 20, 2012

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Surface Science
Catalysis

Background:

Cerium dioxide (CeO2) exhibits unique redox properties crucial for catalysis, linked to oxygen vacancies and Ce3+/Ce4+ transitions.
Identifying Ce3+ species at the atomic level is challenging but vital for understanding catalytic active sites.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and apply atomic-resolution techniques for distinguishing Ce3+ from Ce4+ on CeO2 surfaces.
To investigate the chemical reactivity of Ce3+ sites using force spectroscopy.

Main Methods:

Simultaneous scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) on reduced CeO2 (111) surfaces.
Force spectroscopy with CO-functionalized probes to probe chemical reactivity.
Correlating electronic contrast from STM with topographic data from AFM.

Main Results:

STM revealed electronic modulations indicative of Ce3+ sites, appearing as inhomogeneous shading.
AFM successfully differentiated these electronic features from true atomic topography.
Force spectroscopy quantified the distinct chemical reactivity of candidate Ce3+ sites compared to Ce4+ sites.

Conclusions:

The combined STM-AFM and force spectroscopy approach provides robust atomic-level insights into ceria surface defects.
This methodology is promising for characterizing the chemistry of active sites in CeO2-based catalysts.