Imaging nanosized gold colloids by atomic force microscopy: A direct comparison with transmission electron microscopy

Abstract

Gold colloids have been prepared on carbon-coated copper grids using poly(lysine) as a chemical adhesive. The particles have been imaged using contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM). The same individual particles have then been imaged by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Comparison of the images shows that the particle height determined by AFM agrees remarkably well with that determined by TEM, but that the width of the images is consistently higher than the height. Doublets and triplets can be resolved well but subtle shape differences are poorly reproduced by AFM.