title: Photoswitching tripodal single molecular tip for noncontact AFM measurements: synthesis, immobilization, and reversible configurational change on gold surface.
abstract: Tripodal molecules consisting of a tetrasubstituted adamantane with three phenylacetylene legs and a reversibly photoswitching apex were designed as "single molecular tips" for both chemical and topographical characterization of the substrate surface. By covalent attachment onto gold-coated AFM tips through three S-Au bonds, these rigid tripodal molecules are expected to act as sharp, robust, and stationary molecular tips whose configuration can be reversibly changed upon irradiation with UV or visible light. In this report, the full account of the syntheses of two photoswitching tripodal molecular tips, their immobilization onto Au(111) surfaces, and the detection of photoinduced configurational change on Au(111) surface by SPM measurements are documented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan.
authors.forename: Daiko
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Takamatsu
authors.forename: Ken-ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukui
authors.forename: Safwan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aroua
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamakoshi
mesh_terms: D001391:Azo Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D007536:Isomerism; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D015394:Molecular Structure; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D001391:Azo Compounds; D006046:Gold; C009850:azobenzene