An L-shaped nanoprobe for scanning electrochemical microscopy-atomic force microscopy

Abstract

We present an L-shaped nanoprobe for scanning electrochemical microscopy-atomic force microscopy (SECM-AFM) capable of imaging the surface topography and the electrochemical activity of nanostructures of interest. Owing to the geometry of the protrusive peak in the L-shaped probe, the distance between the probe electrode and the substrate is maintained precisely at ∼100 nm during surface scanning. The reduction in electrode-to-substrate distance significantly improves the positive feedback current on top of the electrochemically active nanomaterials. The L-shaped nanoprobe successfully acquired simultaneous a topographical image and an electrochemical current image of individual carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a two-dimensional (2D) CNT network. Schematic diagram of an L-shaped nanoprobe for SECM-AFM: the nanoprobe has a triangular frame nanoelectrode and a protrusive insulating peak at the end of the AFM tip.