Determining structural and chemical heterogeneities of surface species at the single-bond limit

The structure determination of surface species has long been a challenge because of their rich chemical heterogeneities. Modern tip-based microscopic techniques can resolve heterogeneities from their distinct electronic, geometric, and vibrational properties at the single-molecule level but with lim...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2021-02, Vol.371 (6531), p.818-822
Main Authors: Xu, Jiayu, Zhu, Xiang, Tan, Shijing, Zhang, Yao, Li, Bin, Tian, Yunzhe, Shan, Huan, Cui, Xuefeng, Zhao, Aidi, Dong, Zhenchao, Yang, Jinlong, Luo, Yi, Wang, Bing, Hou, J G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic force microscopy
Catalysis
Chemical speciation
Chemical synthesis
Hydrogen bonds
Literary Devices
Metal surfaces
Microscopy
Organic Chemistry
Raman spectra
Scanning tunneling microscopy
Spatial discrimination
Spatial resolution
Species
Structural analysis
Surface chemistry
Two dimensional materials
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The structure determination of surface species has long been a challenge because of their rich chemical heterogeneities. Modern tip-based microscopic techniques can resolve heterogeneities from their distinct electronic, geometric, and vibrational properties at the single-molecule level but with limited interpretation from each. Here, we combined scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), noncontact atomic force microscopy (AFM), and tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) to characterize an assumed inactive system, pentacene on the Ag(110) surface. This enabled us to unambiguously correlate the structural and chemical heterogeneities of three pentacene-derivative species through specific carbon-hydrogen bond breaking. The joint STM-AFM-TERS strategy provides a comprehensive solution for determining chemical structures that are widely present in surface catalysis, on-surface synthesis, and two-dimensional materials.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.abd1827