@article{aa5376a008774fa2a5ffa9c14833e7bd,
title = "Sub-angstrom noninvasive imaging of atomic arrangement in 2D hybrid perovskites",
abstract = "Noninvasive imaging of the atomic arrangement in two-dimensional (2D) Ruddlesden-Popper hybrid perovskites (RPPs) is challenging because of the insulating nature and softness of the organic layers. Here, we demonstrate a sub-angstrom resolution imaging of both soft organic layers and inorganic framework in a prototypical 2D lead-halide RPP crystal via combined tip-functionalized scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and noncontact atomic force microscopy (ncAFM) corroborated by theoretical simulations. STM measurements unveil the atomic reconstruction of the inorganic lead-halide lattice and overall twin-domain composition of the RPP crystal, while ncAFM measurements with a CO-tip enable nonperturbative visualization of the cooperative reordering of surface organic cations driven by their hydrogen bonding interactions with the inorganic lattice. Moreover, such a joint technique also allows for the atomic-scale imaging of the electrostatic potential variation across the twin-domain walls, revealing alternating quasi-1D electron and hole channels at neighboring twin boundaries, which may influence in-plane exciton transport and dissociation.",
author = "Mykola Telychko and Shayan Edalatmanesh and Kai Leng and Ibrahim Abdelwahab and Na Guo and Chun Zhang and Mendieta-Moreno, {Jes{\'u}s I.} and Matyas Nachtigall and Jing Li and Loh, {Kian Ping} and Pavel Jel{\'i}nek and Jiong Lu",
note = "Funding Information: Funding: J. LU acknowledges the support from MOE grants (MOE2019-T2-2-044 MOET2EP50121-0008 and R-143-000-B58-114). M.T. acknowledges support from an A*STAR AME YIRG grant (project no. A20E6c0098, R-143-000-B71-305). K.P.L. acknowledges the support from MOE grant (MOE2019-T2-1-037). P.J. acknowledges financial support from Praemium Academie of the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, GACR project no. 20-13692X and CzechNanoLab Research Infrastructure supported by MEYS CR (LM2018110). Author contributions: M.T. and J. LU conceived and designed the experiments. M.T. performed all experiments related to the characterization of RPPs via combined STM/ncAFM measurements and data analysis. K.L. and I.A. performed synthesis of RPP crystals and their mechanical exfoliation onto Au surface, under the supervision of K.P.L. S.E., J.I.M.-M., and M.N. performed the DFT calculations under the supervision of P.J. J. Li, N.G., and C.Z. contributed to the scientific discussion. The manuscript was written by M.T., J. LU, and P.J. with contributions from all coauthors. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Data and materials availability: All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are present in the paper and/or the Supplementary Materials. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors, some rights reserved;",
year = "2022",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1126/sciadv.abj0395",
language = "English",
volume = "8",
journal = "Science advances",
issn = "2375-2548",
publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",
number = "17",
}