First atomic images of molecules

First atomic images of molecules before and after reaction

June 4, 2013

Non-contact atomic force microscope (nc-AFM) images (center) of a molecule before and after an annealing reaction (T>90 degrees C) improve immensely over images (top) from a scanning tunneling microscope and look just like the classic molecular structure diagrams (bottom) (credit: UC Berkeley)

A technique for snapping an atomic-scale picture of a chemical before and after it reacts has been developed by chemists and physicists at the University of California, Berkeley.

Using a modified state-of-the-art atomic force microscope (AFM), the scientists have taken the first atom-by-atom pictures, including images of the chemical bonds between atoms, clearly depicting how a molecule’s structure changed during a reaction.

Until now, scientists have only been able to infer this type of information from spectroscopic analysis.

“Even though I use these molecules on a day to day basis, actually being able to see these pictures blew me away. Wow!” said lead researcher Felix Fischer, UC Berkeley assistant professor of chemistry.

“This was what my teachers used to say that you would never be able to actually see, and now we have it here.”/.../