A single-molecule van der Waals compass

Single-molecule imaging is challenging but highly beneficial for investigating intermolecular interactions at the molecular level1–6. Van der Waals interactions at the sub-nanometre scale strongly influence various molecular behaviours under confinement conditions7–11. Inspired by the traditional compass12, here we use a para-xylene molecule as a rotating pointer to detect the host–guest van der Waals interactions in the straight channel of the...