In order to increase the potential of NC-AFM in resolving the chemical structure, it is important to be able to quickly identify heteroatoms in organic molecules. This study aimed to understand the effect of element types on the contrast of AFM images using a few model compounds. We found that the heteroatoms can be identified from AFM images alone. Especially, we found that the bond contrast can be correlated to atomic radii under high resolution, but other factors such as adsorption heights, electron density, mobility, and substrate should also be considered. This study allows for a quick identification of most heteroatoms of molecular structures in unknown mixtures, particularly for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum.

Studies to identify heteroatoms in aromatic molecules with non-contact atomic force microscopy

2019 Spring National Meeting

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