Rapid quantitative chemical mapping of surfaces with sub-2 nm resolution.
We present a theory that exploits four observables in bimodal atomic force microscopy to produce maps of the Hamaker constant H. The quantitative H maps may be employed by the broader community to directly interpret the high resolution of standard bimodal AFM images as chemical maps while simultaneously quantifying chemistry in the non-contact regime. We further provide a simple methodology to optimize a range of operational parameters for which H is in the closest agreement with the Lifshitz theory in order to (1) simplify data acquisition and (2) generalize the methodology to any set of cantilever-sample systems.
Laboratory for Energy and NanoScience (LENS), Institute Center for Future Energy (iFES), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. mchiesa@masdar.ac.ae.
Chia-Yun
CY
Lai
Instititute Center for Water and Environment (iWater), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Saverio
S
Perri
Laboratory for Energy and NanoScience (LENS), Institute Center for Future Energy (iFES), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. mchiesa@masdar.ac.ae.
Sergio
S
Santos
Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, CSIC Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
Ricardo
R
Garcia
Laboratory for Energy and NanoScience (LENS), Institute Center for Future Energy (iFES), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. mchiesa@masdar.ac.ae.
Matteo
M
Chiesa