On-surface chemistry using local high electric fields

Nanoscale Adv. 2021 Aug 7;3(19):5565-5569. doi: 10.1039/d1na00383f. eCollection 2021 Sep 28.

Abstract

Dihydrotetraazapentacene (DHTAP) molecules can be dehydrogenated on the surface to form tetraazapentacene (TAP), by applying a high electric field between the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) and a metallic substrate in the zero-current limit. The method can be applied either to single molecules or more extended layers by successively scanning a selected area using an STM tip.