Advances in tip-based microscopy in materials science have allowed imaging at angstrom-scale resolution, although the technique does not provide clear characterization of the structural and chemical heterogeneities of surface species. In a new report now published on Science, Jiayu Xu and a research team in quantum information and quantum physics at the University of Science and Technology of China used a model system of pentacene derivatives on a silver surface. The researchers then combined a range of materials characterization techniques including scanning-tunneling microscopy, atomic force microscopy and tip-enhanced Raman scattering to provide electronic, structural and chemical information to characterize diverse, yet structurally similar chemical species relative to their interaction with the metal surface at single-bond resolution. The proposed multi-technique approach has wide applications across fundamental studies for heterogenous catalysis of surface chemistry.
Click here for original story, Understanding the structural and chemical heterogeneities of surface species at the single-bond limit
Source: Phys.org