[1P01-52] Poster Presentation

[1P09] Tip-enhanced vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy of molecules on non-coinage metals

*Tatsuto Mochizuki^1,2, Shota Takahashi¹, Atsunori Sakurai^1,2, Toshiki Sugimoto^1,2 (1. Institute for Molecular Science, 2. Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI)

In surface reactions on heterogeneous catalysts, the reactivity is influenced by the nm-scale structure of the surface. Thus, understanding the microscopic mechanism of heterogeneous catalysis requires the ability to track the structure and orientation of molecules with a resolution beyond the diffraction limit of light. To address this challenge, we have been developing a technique called tip-enhanced sum-frequency generation (TE-SFG) spectroscopy, which makes it possible to detect molecular vibration with nm resolution. A significant enhancement has been achieved using gold, a coinage material, in both the tip and the substrate until now. However, non-coinage metals, such as platinum or nickel, have been mostly used as heterogeneous catalysts. In this study, we have acquired a vibrational resonant TE-SFG signal from molecules adsorbed on a non-coinage substrate. The new findings suggest that TE-SFG holds the potential to trace the reactant molecules of heterogeneous catalysis.