Tip-induced nanoscale electrochemical deposition of palladium and platinum on an Au(111) electrode surface

A nanoscale place-selective electrochemical deposition of palladium and platinum on an Au(111) electrode induced by a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip was achieved by controlling the potentials of the Au(111) substrate and the STM tip properly. A local potential change of the substrate surface or an atom transfer process from the tip to the substrate when the tip was very close to the substrate is considered to be responsible for the tip-induced deposition.