Creating nanoscale pits on solid surfaces in aqueous environment with scanning tunnelling microscopy

A novel method has been developed to fabricate nanoscale pits on Au(111) in aqueous environments by in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), based on critical interactions between tip and substrate. The most striking advantages of the present method are that the dimension and position of the pits can be controlled well in aqueous environments, and the operations are simple. Parameters affecting the pit formation and size have been systematically characterized to show that pit formation is dominated by bias voltage. A mechanism is proposed based on local surface reconstruction induced by electronic contact between tip and substrate.