Stable contrast mode on TiO2(110) surface with metal-coated tips using AFM

Abstract We investigated a method to obtain a stable contrast mode on the TiO 2 (110) surface. The stable contrast rate is approximately 95% with a W-coated Si cantilever, which demonstrates that a stable tip apex plays an important role to obtain the real geometry of the surface during atomic force microscopy measurement. Information related to surface structure and tunnelling current on the TiO 2 (110) surface can be obtained by the W-coated Si cantilever. It is possible to investigate the electronic structure and surface potential on the TiO 2 (110) surface with atomic resolution. In particular, the proposed method could be widely applied to investigate the catalytic activity and the mechanism of a catalytic reaction by a metal-coated tip in the future.