Scanning Probe MicroscopiesBeyond ImagingManipulation of Molecules andNanostructures. Edited By Paolo Samor�.

Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 2006. XXIV+546 pp. ,hardcover E 149.00.—ISBN 3-527-31269-2

The invention of scanning probe micro-scopy (SPM) in the early 80s was funda-mental for the development of nano-science and nano-technology. In thelast 25 years scan-ning probe mi-croscopies havebeen employedto study materialswith a spatial res-olution down tothe nanoscale.After a firstdecade focusedto a great extent on the use for generat-ing artistically excellent pictures of surfa-ces and nanostructures, the users startedto employ these methodologies to gainquantitative insight into a variety ofphysico-chemical properties of these ar-chitectures under various boundary con-ditions. The book edited by PaoloSamor+ represents the first contributionwhich focuses on the use of differentSPM methods beyond the mere imaging,as a route to optimize functional archi-tectures primarily based on soft materi-als.This book brings together contribu-

tion of pre-eminent scientists from vari-ous fields to unveil basic rules operatingat the nanoscale which are essential forthe construction of miniaturized deviceswith market potential. This is both awell-written and well-rounded book forthe reason that it addresses SPM meth-ods from different viewpoints by intro-ducing different SPM-based approachesin a most interdisciplinary way.

The book consists of 16 chapters andis divided into four parts : I) Scanningtunneling microscopy-based approaches(chapters 1–4), II) Scanning force micro-scopy-based approaches(chapters 5–13) ;III) Other SPM methodologies (chapter14) and IV) Theoretical approaches(chapters 15–16).Chapter 1 by De Feyter and De Schryv-

er addresses chirality in two dimensions.It nicely shows examples of scanningtunneling microscopy (STM) studies per-formed at the solid–liquid interface andin ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) to unravelthe chiral nature of complex architec-tures. This chapter is particularly relevantin view of the importance of chirality ina variety of fields spanning from materi-als science to biology and medicine.Chapter 2 by J<ckel and Rabe de-

scribes scanning tunneling spectroscopy(STS), that is, a unique tool to investigatethe electronic properties of sub-nanome-ter sized objects adsorbed at surfaces.This is very important as it represents aprime step towards the tailoring of aninterface between an electrode and amolecular nanostructure, thus it pavesthe way towards the optimization ofcharge injection at an interface. Signifi-cantly, STS was successfully employed tofabricate a single-molecule prototypicalelectronic device, that is, a chemical fieldeffect transistor.Chapter 3 by Moresco reports on the

use of STM for the manipulation ofsingle molecules in UHV. This type of ex-ploration makes it possible to bestow in-formation onto the electronic and me-chanical properties of isolated moleculesat surfaces. It addresses also importantpoints such as the design of the mole-cule ideal to be manipulated on a givensurface and the role of the substrate.Chapter 4 by Pascual and Lorente in-

troduces inelastic electron tunneling mi-croscopy and spectroscopy of singlemolecules. These methodologies, whichessentially describe how vibrational

spectroscopy can be carried out usingSTM-based approaches, offer improvedchemical sensitivity as thoroughly dem-onstrated by combining experimentaland theoretical studies.Chapter 5 by Biscarini and co-workers

highlights the use of scanning probelithography to pattern organic nano-structures on various surfaces. Notewor-thy, the developed nanostructures arenicely shown to be useful not only aslocal surface modification or as nanore-cording material for data storage, butalso to template the growth of molecu-lar nanostructures in physisorbed andchemisorbed assemblies. The futuretechnological application of these ap-proaches might include catalysis, elec-tronics, and nanomedicine to name afew applicative fields.Chapter 6 by Hong and co-workers de-

scribes a well-known approach to pat-tern surfaces, that is, the dip-pennanolithoACHTUNGTRENNUNGgraphy. The optimization ofthis method is discussed by analyzingthe different boundary conditions thatmust be controled to achieve precisenanopatterning. The bottle necks of thistechnique are indicated. The depositionof both biological and chemical systemsmakes this tool interesting for differentapplications.Chapter 7 by Lazzaroni et al. offers in-

teresting examples for the use of tap-ping-mode scanning force microscopy(SFM) to study mechanical properties ofpolymer-based assemblies. Experimentalobservations are well-supported bytheory. In particular the authors not onlygive a quantitative estimate for thetopographical and mechanical contribu-tion to height and phase images, butthey also show how to gain a chemicalsensitivity in SFM images that makes itpossible to identify the various compo-nents in a heterogeneous polymer mate-rial.Chapter 8 by Gigler and Marti reviews

the pulsed-force-mode SFM method that

Probing soft materials

ChemPhysChem 2007, 8, 1881 – 1882 B 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH&Co. KGaA, Weinheim 1881

gives detailed information on the differ-ent phases of the tip–sample interaction.This tool is suited to study soft materials.The experimental results are nicely corro-borated by theories which are needed tounderstand the elastic response of thesample.Chapter 9 by Williams presents force

spectroscopy. This contribution high-lights the potential of this approach toexplore the nanomechanics of biomole-cules. Theory properly supports the ex-perimental results. However, only a few,albeit highly relevant, cases are de-scribed, something which might disap-point the reader.Chapter 10 by Schçnherr and Vancso

describes the chemical force microscopy(CFM) by paying particular attention tothe chemical functionalization of theSFM tip and to the fundamental under-standing of the tip–sample interaction aswell as to the improvement of the lateraland force resolution. Highly localizedchemical information can be gatheredby CFM for various interfaces, thus open-ing interesting perspectives for their ap-plication in chemistry, polymer scienceand for coating techniques, and moregenerally in materials science and nano-ACHTUNGTRENNUNG(bio)technology.Chapter 11 by Vancso and co-workers

addresses SFM single-molecule forcespectroscopy of synthetic supramolec-ular species. They show that by record-ing force-extension curves it is possibleto explore the mechanical properties ofindividual (macro)molecules and singlesupramolecular and covalent bondsunder dynamic loading conditions. This

tool is relevant in biology as the forma-tion and dissociation of specific supra-molecular bonds plays a key role forfunctions of biological systems.Chapter 12 by De Pablo and co-work-

ers deals with conducting SFM as a toolto perform electrical measurements ofnanostructured materials. The versatilityof this approach is evidenced by its useto investigate current–voltage character-istics of carbon nanotubes, DNA andsmall organic molecules. Given the greatcurrent interest in molecular (nano)elec-tronics, conducting SFM can be of nota-bly high importance for the fabricationand optimization of molecular wires.Chapter 13 by Samor+ et al. focusses

on Kelvin probe force microscopy(KPFM), that is, another important SFM-based approach to explore electrical andelectronic properties of nanostructures.Using KPFM one can not only investigatethe surface potential of artificial and bio-logical architectures, but also map work-ing (opto)electronic devices in action, forexample, by studying the potentialdecay in a field effect transistor or thephotovoltaic activity in a solar cell con-sisting of phase-segregated electron ac-ceptor–donor blends. It will be thereforea key method for the emerging field ofopto- and nanoelectronics.Chapter 14 by Laforge and Mirkin illus-

trates scanning electrochemical micro-scopy, that is, a tool to probe electron,ion and molecule transfer at various in-terfaces. By performing nanoscale elec-trochemical investigation one can gaindirect insight into the corrosion of

metals, adsorption processes and meta-ACHTUNGTRENNUNGbolism of single living cells.Chapter 15 by Lorente and Brandbyge

introduces the theory of elastic and in-elastic transport from tunneling to con-tact, that is, it casts light onto differentregimes in atomic-scale transport.Chapter 16 by De Santis and co-work-

ers offers a theoretical view of the me-chanical properties of double-strandedDNA. This is particularly relevant as DNAcurvature and flexibility play a dominantrole in different biological phenomenasuch as replication and transcription.In conclusion, the book succeeds in its

goal of presenting SPM approaches toquantitatively study physico-chemicalproperties of soft materials across a widerange of length scales, even down to thenanoscale that will most likely be helpfulfor applications in several fields ofmodern science such as (opto)electron-ics, biology, medicine and more general-ly in nanoscience and nanotechnology.This book will be a precious tool forboth graduate students, but also formore expert scientists operating in vari-ous fields including physics, chemistry,biology, material sciences and engineer-ing technology. It will definitively offerall of them a detailed scenario to broad-en their knowledge on scanning probemicroscopies and more generally on theunravelling of the nanoscale world.

Dr. Javier M-ndezInstituto de Ciencia de Materiales deMadrid—CSICMadrid 28049 (Spain)DOI: 10.1002/cphc.200700219

1882 www.chemphyschem.org B 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH&Co. KGaA, Weinheim ChemPhysChem 2007, 8, 1881 – 1882