An atomic force microscopy mode for nondestructive electromechanical studies and its application to diphenylalanine peptide nanotubes

作者：Kalinin Arseny; Atepalikhin Valentin; Pakhomov Oleg; Kholkin Andrei L; Tselev Alexander^*

来源：Ultramicroscopy, 2018, 185: 49-54.

DOI：10.1016/j.ultramic.2017.11.009

• Atomic force microscopy
• Piezoresponse force microscopy
• Peptide tubes
• Nondestructive scanning probe imaging
• Young's modulus

Nondestructive scanning probe microscopy of fragile nanoscale objects is currently in increasing need. In this paper, we report a novel atomic force microscopy mode, HybriD Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (HD-PFM), for simultaneous nondestructive analysis of piezoresponse as well as of mechanical and dielectric properties of nanoscale objects. We demonstrate this mode in application to self-assembled diphenylalanine peptide micro- and nanotubes formed on a gold-covered substrate. Nondestructive in- and out-of-plane piezoresponse measurements of tubes of less than 100 nm in diameter are demonstrated for the first time. High-resolution maps of tube elastic properties were obtained simultaneously with HD-PFM. Analysis of the measurement data combined with the finite-elements simulations allowed quantification of tube Young's modulus. The obtained value of 29 +/- 1 GPa agrees well with the data obtained with other methods and reported in the literature.

• 出版日期2018-2