Atomic force microscopy is capable of resolving the chemical structure of a single molecule on a surface. In previous research, such high resolution has only been obtained at low temperatures. Here we demonstrate that the chemical structure of a single molecule can be clearly revealed even at room temperature. 3,4,9,10-perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride, which is strongly adsorbed onto a corner-hole site of a Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface in a bridge-like configuration is used for demonstration. Force spectroscopy combined with first-principle calculations clarifies that chemical structures can be resolved independent of tip reactivity. We show that the submolecular contrast over a central part of the molecule is achieved in the repulsive regime due to differences in the attractive van der Waals interaction and the Pauli repulsive interaction between different sites of the molecule.

] Graduate School of Engineering Osaka University 2 1 Yamada Oka Suita Osaka 565 0871 Japan [2] Department of Advanced Materials Science University of Tokyo 5 1 5 Kashiwanoha Kashiwa Chiba 277 8561 Japan

] Institute of Physics Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Cukrovarnická 10 112 Prague 16200 Czech Republic [2] Graduate School of Engineering Osaka University 2 1 Yamada Oka Suita Osaka 565 0871 Japan

Graduate School of Engineering Osaka University 2 1 Yamada Oka Suita Osaka 565 0871 Japan

Institute of Physics Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Cukrovarnická 10 112 Prague 16200 Czech Republic

The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research Osaka University 8 1 Mihogaoka Ibaraki Osaka 567 0047 Japan

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