Molecular structure of organic micro-crystals characterised by atomic force microscopy

In this study we show that the spin-coating technique can be used to prepare micrometer-sized crystals of organic molecules. Hydrophilic silicon wafers were spin-coated with chloroform solutions of rodlike bicyclohexylidene oximes 1–3. Atomic force microscopy images show that well-defined micro-crystals of 1 and 3 deposit on the silicon surface, which can be imaged with molecular resolution. The crystallographic dimensions derived from the atomic force microscope images correspond well with single crystal X-ray diffraction data.