Probing single molecules in their nanoenvironment can reveal site-specific phenomena that would be obscured by ensemble-averaging experiments on macroscopic populations of molecules. Particularly in the past decade, major technological breakthroughs in scanning probe microscopy (SPM) have led to unprecedented spatial resolution and versatility and enabled the interrogation of molecular conformation, bond order, molecular orbitals, charge states, spins, phonons, and intermolecular interactions. On page 452 of this issue, Peng et al. (1) use SPM to directly measure the triplet lifetime of an individual pentacene molecule and demonstrate its dependence on interactions with nearby oxygen molecules with atomic precision. In addition to allowing the local tuning and probing of spin-spin interactions between molecules, this study represents a notable advance in the single-molecule regime and provides insights into many macroscopic behaviors and related applications in catalysis, energy-conversion materials, or biological systems.

探测纳米环境中的单个分子可以揭示特定于位点的现象，而这些现象会被宏观分子群的整体平均实验所掩盖。特别是在过去十年中，扫描探针显微镜 (SPM) 的重大技术突破带来了前所未有的空间分辨率和多功能性，并能够对分子构象、键序、分子轨道、电荷态、自旋、声子和分子间相互作用进行研究。在本期第 452 页，Peng等人。( 1) 使用 SPM 直接测量单个并五苯分子的三重态寿命，并以原子精度证明其依赖与附近氧分子的相互作用。除了允许局部调整和探测分子之间的自旋-自旋相互作用外，这项研究代表了单分子机制的显着进步，并提供了对催化、能量转换材料或生物系统中许多宏观行为和相关应用的见解.