The scanning tunneling microscope is revolutionizing the study of surfaces. In ultra-high vacuum it is capable not only of imaging individual atoms but also of determining energy states on an atom-by-atom basis. It is now possible to operate this instrument in water. Aqueous optical microscopy is confined to a lateral resolution limit of about 2000 angstroms, and aqueous x-ray microscopy has yielded a lateral resolution of 75 angstroms. With a scanning tunneling microscope, an image of a graphite surface immersed in deionized water was obtained with features less than 3 angstroms apart clearly resolved. Further, an image measured in saline solution demonstrated that the instrument can be operated under conditions useful for many biological samples.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.232.4747.211 | DOI Listing |
Chemistry
January 2025
Technical University of Munich: Technische Universitat Munchen, Physics, James-Franck-Strasse 1, 85748, Garching, GERMANY.
The macrocyclic biquinazoline ligand, H-Mabiq, presents a central and a peripheral site for the coordination of metal ions, making the adsorption on solid surfaces promising for the creation of self-assembled bimetallic two-dimensional platforms. Here, we apply an on-surface metalation strategy under ultra-high vacuum conditions to guide the synthesis of metalated species and study sequential metalation patterns. We find that cobalt (as well as iron) metalation on the Ag(111) surface preferentially occurs at the macrocyclic centre without further metal coordination to the peripheral site.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNano Lett
January 2025
Physical Chemistry I, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, D-44801 Bochum, Germany.
The solvation of ions at interfaces is important to areas as diverse as atmospheric sciences, energy materials, and biology. Despite the significance, fundamental understanding, particularly at the molecular level, remains incomplete. Here, we probe the initial solvation of two singly charged but differently sized ions (Li and Cs) on a Au(111) by combining low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy with density functional theory.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
January 2025
Nanotech@surfaces Laboratory, Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
Polyacene analogues, consisting of short acene segments separated by nonbenzenoid rings, offer intriguing electronic properties and magnetic interactions. Pentalene-bridged polyacenes (PPs), in particular, hold promise for enhancing the electrical conductivity and potential open-shell ground states. However, PPs have remained elusive in solution chemistry due to poor solubility and limited synthetic protocols.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
School of Physics, Beihang University, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
Topology is being widely adopted to understand and to categorize quantum matter in modern physics. The nexus of topology orders, which engenders distinct quantum phases with benefits to both fundamental research and practical applications for future quantum devices, can be driven by topological phase transition through modulating intrinsic or extrinsic ordering parameters. The conjoined topology, however, is still elusive in experiments due to the lack of suitable material platforms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhys Rev Lett
December 2024
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Classical transport of electrons and holes in nanoscale devices leads to heating that severely limits performance, reliability, and efficiency. In contrast, recent theory suggests that interband quantum tunneling and subsequent thermalization of carriers with the lattice results in local cooling of devices. However, internal cooling in nanoscale devices is largely unexplored.
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