Spatially Resolved Mapping of Three-Dimensional Molecular Orientations with ∼2 nm Spatial Resolution through Tip-Enhanced Raman Scattering

• Published in: Journal of physical chemistry. C Vol. 124; no. 31; pp. 17211 - 17217
• Main Authors: El-Khoury, Patrick Z, Aprà, Edoardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 06-08-2020
• Subjects: C: Plasmonics; Optical, Magnetic, and Hybrid Materials; INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; molecular properties; molecules; plasmonics; probes; raman spectroscopy
• ISSN: 1932-7447; 1932-7455
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c04263

We record local optical field images of silver nanocubes (75 nm) using tip-enhanced Raman (TER) spectral imaging. The images that we observe are consistent with several recent reports from our group, but here, we demonstrate sub-2 nm spatial resolution in local optical field nanoimaging under ambient laboratory conditions. This is achieved by scanning the substrate (nanocube on Si) relative to a 4-thiobenzonitrile (TBN)-functionalized Ag-coated TER probe. The spatial resolution that we obtain necessitates that only a few molecules govern the recorded optical response; molecular orientation becomes an important consideration in such measurements. We model the orientation through geometry optimization of a TBN molecule chemisorbed onto an Ag79 cluster (sphere with a ∼1 nm diameter). Using the computed orientation of the cluster-bound molecule, we then model the optical response using formalism that accounts for the orientation of the molecule relative to vector components of the local optical fields. We find optimal agreement between experiment and theory. In effect, this work reveals the parallels between single-molecule Raman scattering and high-spatial-resolution TER spectroscopy, even when the images themselves cannot be used to visualize a single molecule in real space.