2016/05/27 by Prokop Hapala, Martin Švec, Oleksandr Stetsovych +6 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Engineering · #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Integrated Circuits and Semiconductor Failure Analysis
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/ncomms11560
openalex publication_date 2016/05/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
How electronic charge is distributed over a molecule determines to a large extent its chemical properties. Here, we demonstrate how the electrostatic force field, originating from the inhomogeneous charge distribution in a molecule, can be measured with submolecular resolution. We exploit the fact that distortions typically observed in high-resolution atomic force microscopy images are for a significant part caused by the electrostatic force acting between charges of the tip and the molecule of interest. By finding a geometrical transformation between two high-resolution AFM images acquired with two different tips, the electrostatic force field or potential over individual molecules and self-assemblies thereof can be reconstructed with submolecular resolution.