Non-covalent interactions are very important for nanostructures. The detection of non-covalent interactions at the molecular scale is very difficult since they are too weak to detect in most cases. The disturbance from the liquid environment can be eliminated in high vacuum, which makes the detection of non-covalent interactions possible. This review introduces a method of high vacuum single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) and summarizes a series of recent studies on non-covalent interactions by using SMFS. These studies include the van der Waals forces between a polymer chain and the substrate as well as the intrachain π–π interactions of a polymer chain, which cast new light on the non-covalent interactions.

非共价相互作用对于纳米结构非常重要。在分子尺度上检测非共价相互作用非常困难，因为在大多数情况下它们太弱而无法检测。在高真空中可以消除液体环境的干扰，这使得非共价相互作用的检测成为可能。本综述介绍了一种高真空单分子力谱 (SMFS) 方法，并总结了最近使用 SMFS 对非共价相互作用进行的一系列研究。这些研究包括聚合物链和底物之间的范德华力以及聚合物链的链内π – π相互作用，这为非共价相互作用带来了新的曙光。