High Resolution Single Molecule Imaging by Scanning Probe and Electron Microscopy through Preparative Mass Spectroscopy

by Stephan Rauschenbach (Max-Planck-Institute for Solid State Research)

Thursday 3 Mar 2016, 14:00 → 15:00 Europe/Berlin

AER19/3.11 (European XFEL GmbH)

Measuring and understanding the complexity that arises when synthetic or natural, molecular nanostructures interact with their environment are a current challenge of nanoscale science and technology. High-resolution microscopy methods such as scanning probe microscopy or electron microscopy have the capacity to investigate nanoscale systems with ultimate precision, for which, however, atomic scale precise preparation methods of surface science are a necessity. Often however, ultrahigh vacuum surface science and biological molecules are incompatible. Preparative mass spectrometry (pMS) with soft ionization sources links the world of large, biological molecules and surface science, enabling atomic scale chemical control of molecular deposition in ultrahigh vacuum. In this talk I explore the application of high-resolution scanning probe microscopy to the characterization of structure and properties of large molecules at surfaces. I briefly introduce the fundamental principles of the combined experiments electrospray ion beam deposition and scanning tunneling microscopy. Examples for the deposition and investigation of single particles, for layer and film growth, and for the investigation of structure, conformation, and electronic properties of individual nonvolatile molecules are presented. They show that state-of-the-art pMS offers a highly controlled and pure path to high resolution microscopy with unique features due to the use of charged polyatomic particles for deposition. This new field is an enormous sandbox for researching novel , sequence controlled molecular materials and large, individual molecules.