In this work we briefly describe the most relevant features of WSXM, a freeware scanning probe microscopy software based on MS-Windows. The article is structured in three different sections: The introduction is a perspective on the importance of software on scanning probe microscopy. The second section is devoted to describe the general structure of the application; in this section the capabilities of WSXM to read third party files are stressed. Finally, a detailed discussion of some relevant procedures of the software is carried out.

This review is an attempt to illustrate the different alternatives in the field of 2D materials. Graphene seems to be just the tip of the iceberg and we show how the discovery of alternative 2D materials is starting to show the rest of this iceberg. The review comprises the current state-of-the-art of the vast literature in concepts and methods already known for isolation and characterization of graphene, and rationalizes the quite disperse literature in other 2D materials such as metal oxides, hydroxides and chalcogenides, and metal–organic frameworks.

This paper shows that the nanostructures deposited at room temperature in scanning tunneling microscopy experiments are produced by mechanical contact between tip and sample. Gold mounds are deposited in gold substrates and it is observed that the current flowing between tip and sample is quantized and the resistance can be as low as 100 Ω.

The electrical conductivity of biomaterials on a molecular scale is of fundamental interest in the life sciences. We perform first principles electronic structure calculations, which clearly indicate that $\lambda$-DNA chains should present large resistance values. We also present two direct procedures to measure electrical currents through DNA molecules adsorbed on mica. The lower limit for the resistivity is ${10}^6\Omega ̇\mathrm{cm}$, in agreement with our calculations. We also show that low energy electron bombardment induces a rapid contamination and dramatically affects the measured conductivity, thus providing an explanation to recent reports of high DNA conductivity.

We report on a fast and simple method to produce highly stable isopropanol/water (4:1) suspensions of few‐layer antimonene by liquid‐phase exfoliation of antimony crystals in a process that is assisted by sonication but does not require the addition of any surfactant. This straightforward method generates dispersions of few‐layer antimonene suitable for on‐surface isolation. Analysis by atomic force microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy confirmed the formation of high‐quality few‐layer antimonene nanosheets with large lateral dimensions. These nanolayers are extremely stable under ambient conditions. Their Raman signals are strongly thickness‐dependent, which was rationalized by means of density functional theory calculations.