title: Characterization of a surface reaction by means of atomic force microscopy.
abstract: We study a thermally activated on-surface planarization reaction by a detailed analysis of the reactant and reaction products from atomically resolved atomic force microscopy (AFM) images and spectroscopy. The three-dimensional (3D) structure of the reactant, a helical diphenanthrene derivative, requires going beyond constant-height imaging. The characterization in three dimensions is enabled by acquisition and analysis of the AFM signal in a 3D data set. This way, the structure and geometry of nonplanar molecules as well as their reaction products on terraces and at step edges can be determined.
authors.affiliation: †Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.affiliation: †Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Niko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pavliček
authors.affiliation: ‡Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
authors.forename: Coral
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Herranz-Lancho
authors.affiliation: ‡Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruben
authors.affiliation: †Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jascha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Repp