Room-temperature repositioning of individual C60 molecules at Cu steps: Operation of a molecular counting device

Abstract

Articles you may be interested inControlled manipulation of ethen molecules and lead atoms on Cu(211) with a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope

Scanning tunneling microscopy and x-ray photoelectron diffraction investigation ofC60films on Cu(100)

“…Note that imaging heights of adsorbed C 60 falling significantly below the diameter of the carbon atom cage are a typical finding, and values in the range 2-6 Å have been reported for various systems. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] The molecules tend to form alternating bright/dim strings oriented along high-symmetry ͓011͔ or ͓01 1͔ crystallographic directions. The nearest neighbor ͑nn͒ lateral distances in the islands are in the range 9.8 -10.3 Å, which comes close to the intermolecular distance of 10.02 Å in the close-packed plane of a C 60 fcc crystal.…”

“…Due to its extremely high spatial resolution, scanning tunneling microscopy ͑STM͒ has been widely used to investigate the molecular bonding, nucleation and growth processes and film morphologies of C 60 deposited on metal [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] or semiconductor surfaces. [21][22][23][24][25] Quite frequently in the STM studies distinct C 60 species were discerned, i.e., molecules appearing with different imaging heights or intramolecular features.…”

Theoretical aspects of vertical and lateral manipulation of atoms

“…Individual atoms and molecules have been manipulated to move both laterally and vertically by this instrument in a number of research laboratories [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. This technique opens the way for a variety of technological applications including nanostructuring of surfaces and manipulation of chemical reactions -both of which are important to the fruition of some of the expectations from nanotechnology.…”

“…One of the spectacular scientific advances of recent times is the ability to move atoms and molecules, in a controlled manner, using the tip of a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) [1][2][3][4]. Individual atoms and molecules have been manipulated to move both laterally and vertically by this instrument in a number of research laboratories [1][2][3][4][5][6][7].…”

Morphology Change of C60 Islands on Organic Crystals Observed by Atomic Force Microscopy

“…[25][26][27] At room temperature (RT), two dimensional C 60 layers have been observed on metals [28][29][30] and semiconductors [31][32][33] while large three dimensional molecular islands or clusters have been revealed on ionic crystals. [34][35][36][37][38][39] Additionally, the controlled manipulation of C 60 molecules has also been demonstrated through the action of a SPM tip as single molecules [40][41][42][43] or as entire islands. 44 In the present work, we characterize the adsorption of the C 60 molecules on the organic lay- 20 The van der Walls diameter of one C 60 molecule is ∼ 1 nm and is close to 2c.…”