Ultra-high resolution imaging of thin films and single strands of polythiophene using atomic force microscopy

Vladimir V. Korolkov (), Alex Summerfield, Alanna Murphy, David B. Amabilino, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi and Peter H. Beton ()
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Vladimir V. Korolkov: University of Nottingham
Alex Summerfield: University of Nottingham
Alanna Murphy: University of Nottingham
David B. Amabilino: University of Nottingham
Kenji Watanabe: National Institute for Materials Science
Takashi Taniguchi: National Institute for Materials Science
Peter H. Beton: University of Nottingham

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Real-space images of polymers with sub-molecular resolution could provide valuable insights into the relationship between morphology and functionality of polymer optoelectronic devices, but their acquisition is problematic due to perceived limitations in atomic force microscopy (AFM). We show that individual thiophene units and the lattice of semicrystalline spin-coated films of polythiophenes (PTs) may be resolved using AFM under ambient conditions through the low-amplitude (≤ 1 nm) excitation of higher eigenmodes of a cantilever. PT strands are adsorbed on hexagonal boron nitride near-parallel to the surface in islands with lateral dimensions ~10 nm. On the surface of a spin-coated PT thin film, in which the thiophene groups are perpendicular to the interface, we resolve terminal CH3-groups in a square arrangement with a lattice constant 0.55 nm from which we can identify abrupt boundaries and also regions with more slowly varying disorder, which allow comparison with proposed models of PT domains.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09571-6

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