Preparation of STM tips for in‐situ characterization of electrode surfaces

The total current between the tip and the sample in a scanning tunnelling microscopy study of a solid/liquid interface can be dominated by Faradaic charge transfer currents. In such a situation, feedback control of the tunnelling gap, and imaging, is precluded. In this contribution we describe the preparation of glass and polymer coated STM tips that possess < 100 Å2 of exposed metal. These tips effectively discriminate against Faradaic current and enable STM imaging in the presence of reversible electroactive solution species at appreciable tip/sample biases.

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