Photoinduced Force Microscopy of Nanosheet & Nanoribbon Edges

A microscope that uses light to nudge atoms is about to map the chemical edges of two-dimensional materials with near-atomic precision. The UK Catalysis Hub already owns one of the world’s few Photoinduced Force Microscopes (PiFM), a tool that measures infrared spectra by detecting tiny forces between a sharp tip and a sample. Until now, the edges of nanosheets and nanoribbons—where their most interesting chemistry happens—have been too narrow for conventional spectroscopy to resolve. This project teams UCL’s nanomaterial experts with the Hub’s characterisation specialists to capture those edge spectra for the first time. This is fundamental science. The immediate payoff is a deeper understanding of how nanoribbons grow and how their edges can be patterned with specific chemical groups. That knowledge could eventually improve the synthesis of materials for catalysts, sensors, or electronic components—things that underpin manufacturing and energy systems. But the work also cements the UK’s position in advanced microscopy, a capability that often seeds unexpected breakthroughs in fields from quantum devices to water treatment. No direct consumer product is on the horizon; the value here is in seeing what was previously invisible.