Elemental Identification by Combining Atomic Force Microscopy and Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy

There are currently no experimental techniques that combine atomic resolution imaging with elemental sensitivity and chemical fingerprinting on single molecules. The advent of using molecular-modified tips in non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) has made it possible to image (planar) molecules with atomic resolution. However, the mechanisms responsible for elemental contrast with passivated tips are not fully understood. Here, we investigate elemental contrast by carrying out both nc-AFM and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) experiments on epitaxial monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). The work is published in ACS Nano (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.7b08997).