IBM scientists make molecular breakthrough

EE Times India reports.

"This achievement will enable fundamental scientific insights into single-molecule switching and bond formation between atoms and molecules," IBM believed.

The ability to image the charge distribution within functional molecular structures holds great promise for future applications such as solar photoconversion, energy storage, or molecular scale computing devices.

According to Market Watch, as reported recently in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, scientists Fabian Mohn, Leo Gross, Nikolaj Moll and Gerhard Meyer of IBM Research succeeded in imaging the charge distribution within a single molecule by using a special kind of atomic force microscopy called Kelvin probe force microscopy at low temperatures and in ultrahigh vacuum.

"This work demonstrates an important new capability of being able to directly measure how charge arranges itself within an individual molecule," The Inquirer quotes Michael Crommie, Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, as saying "Understanding this kind of charge distribution is critical for understanding how molecules work in different environments. I expect this technique to have an especially important future impact on the many areas where physics, chemistry and biology intersect."