STM tips for in-situ scanning tunneling microscopy in aqueous solutions prepared using electrophoretic deposition of paint

摘要

Abstract: An effective electrochemical approach for the preparation of tips suitable for in-situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies in aqueous solutions is presented. An insulting polymer film has been applied to all except the very end of electrochemically etched platinum-iridium (Pt-Ir) STM tips using anodic electrophoretic deposition of paint (EDP). EDP- insulated Pt-Ir STM tips allowed consistently to image the atomic structure of highly oriented pyrographite (HOPG) in electrolytic solutions, and to observe the electrodeposition of copper crystallites along monatomic steps in the surface of single-crystalline Au (111) electrodes. The insulation of STM tips by anodic EDP has the significant advantages of great simplicity and short processing time, important considerations for those who work with in-situ STM on a daily basis. !9