Spin-state switching of spin-crossover complexes on Cu(111) evidenced by spin-flip spectroscopy

Spin-crossover compounds can be switched between two stable states with different magnetic moments, conformations, electronic, and optical properties, which opens appealing perspectives for technological applications including miniaturization down to the scale of single molecules. Although control o...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Johannsen, Sven, Robles, Roberto, Weismann, Alexander, Ridier, Karl, Berndt, Richard, Gruber, Manuel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/382894
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/382894
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Scanning probe microscopy
Single-molecule studies
Spin crossover
Descripción
Sumario:Spin-crossover compounds can be switched between two stable states with different magnetic moments, conformations, electronic, and optical properties, which opens appealing perspectives for technological applications including miniaturization down to the scale of single molecules. Although control of the spin states is crucial their direct identification is challenging in single-molecule experiments. Here we investigate the spin-crossover complex [Fe(HB(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)3)2] on a Cu(111) surface with scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory calculations. Spin crossover of single molecules in dense islands is achieved via electron injection. Spin-flip excitations are resolved in scanning tunneling spectra in a magnetic field enabling the direct identification of the molecular spin state, and revealing the existence of magnetic anisotropy in the HS molecules.