Quantifying molecule-surface interactions using AFM-based single-molecule manipulation

Scanning probe microscopy plays an important role in the investigation of molecular adsorption. Promising is the possibility to probe the molecule-surface interaction while tuning its strength through AFM tip-induced single-molecule manipulation. Here, we outline a strategy to achieve quantitative understanding of such manipulation experiments [1]. The example of qPlus sensor based PTCDA molecule lifting experiments is used to demonstrate how different aspects of the molecule-surface interaction, namely the short-range adsorption potential [2], the asymptotic van der Waals potential [3], local chemical bonds which are the source of the surface corrugation [4], and molecule-molecule interactions [5] can be measured with SPM and interpreted by the help of force-field simulations.\\[4pt] [1] N. Fournier et al., Phys. Rev. B 84, 035435 (2011)\\[0pt] [2] C. Wagner et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 076102 (2012)\\[0pt] [3] C. Wagner et al., Nature Communications 2014 in press\\[0pt] [4] C. Wagner et al., Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 202\\[0pt] [5] M. F. B. Green et al., Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1926.