Imaging a molecular switch © Jay Weymouth/UR
Scanning probe microscopes – like the scanning tunneling microscope, and the atomic force microscope – give us valuable information about individual molecules. One of the most interesting areas of research are molecular switches, which can be switched from one configuration to another.
The key to a molecular switch is to know what is required to switch it. Normally this is described by a potential energy barrier. To determine the potential energy above an adsorbate with a normal AFM requires a series of images at various heights. But molecular switches can change configurations as the tip height changes, making this analysis problematic.
Researchers at the University of Regensburg used a technique called lateral force microscopy, where only a single image is required to determine the potential energy. They investigated copper phthalocyanine – a molecule used for OLEDs – on a metal surface and determined the potential energy barrier of the switching.
This is the first demonstration of lateral force microscopy capturing the “snapshot” of a molecular switch, and the team believes this technique will be applied to more systems to better understand the dynamics and stability of molecular switches.
Contact for scientific information:
PD Dr. Alfred (Jay) Weymouth
University of Regensburg
Faculty of Physics
Phone +49 941 943-2108
www.jayweymouth.com
Instagram: jayweymouth
Original publication:
For more information, see Weymouth, Riegel, Simmet, Gretz and Giessibl “Lateral Force Microscopy Reveals the Energy Barrier of a Molecular Switch” ACS Nano (2021).
