ATOMIC FORCE AND SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPIES OF ORGANIC-SURFACES

Recent progress in scanned probe microscopies (SPM) such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) on organic surfaces is reviewed. Topics include imaging of individual chemisorbed molecules, supported physisorbed molecular assemblies, biopolymers and (bulk) synthetic polymeric materials investigated under various environmental conditions such as vacuum, fluids and air. The effects of tip/surface interactions that result in local surface modifications and image alterations are discussed. The potential of the AFM to measure the local elastic and tribological properties of organic surfaces is demonstrated.