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IMAGE: Using the modified tip of an atomic force microscope, individual atoms in the surface can be probed.
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Credit: TU Wien
The degree of acidity or alkalinity of a substance is crucial for its chemical behavior. The decisive factor is the so-called proton affinity, which indicates how easily an entity accepts or releases a single proton. While it is easy to measure this for molecules, it has not been possible for surfaces. This is important because atoms on surfaces have very different proton affinities, depending on where they sit.
Researchers at TU Wien have now succeeded in making this important physical quantity experimentally accessible for the first time: Using a specially modified atomic force microscope, it is possible to study the proton affinity of individual atoms. This should help to analyze catalysts on an atomic scale. The results have been published in the scientific journal