Intermolecular contrast in atomic force microscopy images without   intermolecular bonds
  Intermolecular features in atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of organic molecules have been ascribed to intermolecular bonds. A recent theoretical study [P. Hapala et al., Phys. Rev. B 90, 085421 (2014)] showed that these features can also be explained by the flexibility of molecule terminated tips. We probe this effect by carrying out AFM experiments on a model system that contains regions where intermolecular bonds should and should not exist between close-by molecules. Intermolecular features are observed in both regions, demonstrating that intermolecular contrast cannot be directly interpreted as intermolecular bonds. 
Sampsa K. H\"am"al\"ainen, Nadine van der Heijden, Joost van der Lit,   Stephan den Hartog, Peter Liljeroth and Ingmar Swart
cond-mat.mes-hall