Journal
REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS
Volume 82, Issue 6, Pages -Publisher
AMER INST PHYSICS
DOI: 10.1063/1.3602330
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- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) Japan
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [23550103] Funding Source: KAKEN
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A simple and reliable method for preparing tips coated with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) for scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in aqueous solutions is reported. Au STM tips were dip-coated with PDMS and subsequently cured. The coated tips were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and voltammetry. We show that the PDMS layer smoothly covers the tip surface except for its very apex. These tips enable atomically resolved imaging of a sample surface and measurement of single-molecule conductance below 1.0 nS with STM in aqueous solutions. Because of the superior compatibility of PDMS with organic solvents, the PDMS-coated tips would be useful for preparing molecular tips via their chemical modification in such solvents, enabling chemically selective imaging of a single molecule in water. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3602330]
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