Characterization of single 1.8-nm Au nanoparticle attachments on AFM tips for single sub-4-nm object pickup

Abstract

This paper presents a novel method for the attachment of a 1.8-nm Au nanoparticle (Au-NP) to the tip of an atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe through the application of a current-limited bias voltage. The resulting probe is capable of picking up individual objects at the sub-4-nm scale. We also discuss the mechanisms involved in the attachment of the Au-NP to the very apex of an AFM probe tip. The Au-NP-modified AFM tips were used to pick up individual 4-nm quantum dots (QDs) using a chemically functionalized method. Single QD blinking was reduced considerably on the Au-NP-modified AFM tip. The resulting AFM tips present an excellent platform for the manipulation of single protein molecules in the study of single protein-protein interactions.

Molecular dynamics simulation of nanoscale mechanical behaviour of ZnO under nanoscratching and nanoindentation

“…Cheng et al [15] described an AFM probe modification scheme, in which a 1.8-nm Au nanoparticle is applied via a current-limited voltage pulse. Okamoto and Yamaguchi [16] deposited an Au nanoparticle (ranging in size from 100 to 300 nm) onto SiN cantilever tips.…”

An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Nanomanipulation of SiO2 Nanoparticles: Design, Fabrication and Feasibility

“…Nano-indentation and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) are two common tools used for the mechanical characterization at the nanoscale level [25][26][27][28].Actually, the contacts between nano-gripper jaws and nanoparticles, with possible mechanical characterization of the nanoparticles, is still a rather unexplored field. Some techniques have been applied by means of AFM [29][30][31] or nano-indenters [32].This investigation presents the feasibility study of a nano-gripper to be used for the mechanical characterization of isolated nanoparticles. Firstly, the synthesis procedure and the morphological characterization by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method of silica nanoparticles KCC-1 will be presented.…”

“…Actually, the contacts between nano-gripper jaws and nanoparticles, with possible mechanical characterization of the nanoparticles, is still a rather unexplored field. Some techniques have been applied by means of AFM [29][30][31] or nano-indenters [32].…”

Facile Fabrication of Spherical Nanoparticle‐Tipped AFM Probes for Plasmonic Applications

“…More recent methods have attempted to address the complexity issue by directly depositing nanoparticles onto the apex by exploiting localized chemical reactions. However, these techniques have still been limited by cost or required specialist equipment, incompatibility with SPM probes, or constraints on nanoparticle growth either in size or material . It remains a challenge to find a simple and efficient method for reliably producing spherical nanoparticle tips.…”