Observation and electric current control of a local spin in a single-molecule magnet

Tadahiro Komeda; Hironari Isshiki; Jie Liu; Yan Feng Zhang; Nicolás Lorente; Keiichi Katoh; Brian K. Breedlove; Masahiro Yamashita

doi:10.1038/ncomms1210

Observation and electric current control of a local spin in a single-molecule magnet

Tadahiro Komeda, Hironari Isshiki, Jie Liu, Yan Feng Zhang, Nicolás Lorente, Keiichi Katoh, Brian K. Breedlove, Masahiro Yamashita

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

332 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In molecular spintronics, the spin state of a molecule may be switched on and off by changing the molecular structure. Here, we switch on and off the molecular spin of a double-decker bis(phthalocyaninato)terbium(III) complex (TbPc 2) adsorbed on an Au(111) surface by applying an electric current via a scanning tunnelling microscope. The dI/dV curve of the tunnelling current recorded onto a TbPc 2 molecule shows a Kondo peak, the origin of which is an unpaired spin of a φ-orbital of a phthalocyaninato (Pc) ligand. By applying controlled current pulses, we could rotate the upper Pc ligand in TbPc _2, leading to the disappearance and reappearance of the Kondo resonance. The rotation shifts the molecular frontier-orbital energies, quenching the φ-electron spin. Reversible switching between two stable ligand orientations by applying a current pulse should make it possible to code information at the single-molecule level.

Original language	English
Article number	217
Journal	Nature communications
Volume	2
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1210
Publication status	Published - 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Chemistry(all)
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
Physics and Astronomy(all)

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10.1038/ncomms1210

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title = "Observation and electric current control of a local spin in a single-molecule magnet",

abstract = "In molecular spintronics, the spin state of a molecule may be switched on and off by changing the molecular structure. Here, we switch on and off the molecular spin of a double-decker bis(phthalocyaninato)terbium(III) complex (TbPc 2) adsorbed on an Au(111) surface by applying an electric current via a scanning tunnelling microscope. The dI/dV curve of the tunnelling current recorded onto a TbPc 2 molecule shows a Kondo peak, the origin of which is an unpaired spin of a φ-orbital of a phthalocyaninato (Pc) ligand. By applying controlled current pulses, we could rotate the upper Pc ligand in TbPc 2, leading to the disappearance and reappearance of the Kondo resonance. The rotation shifts the molecular frontier-orbital energies, quenching the φ-electron spin. Reversible switching between two stable ligand orientations by applying a current pulse should make it possible to code information at the single-molecule level.",

author = "Tadahiro Komeda and Hironari Isshiki and Jie Liu and Zhang, {Yan Feng} and Nicol{\'a}s Lorente and Keiichi Katoh and Breedlove, {Brian K.} and Masahiro Yamashita",

year = "2011",

doi = "10.1038/ncomms1210",

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T1 - Observation and electric current control of a local spin in a single-molecule magnet

AU - Komeda, Tadahiro

AU - Isshiki, Hironari

AU - Liu, Jie

AU - Zhang, Yan Feng

AU - Lorente, Nicolás

AU - Katoh, Keiichi

AU - Breedlove, Brian K.

AU - Yamashita, Masahiro

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - In molecular spintronics, the spin state of a molecule may be switched on and off by changing the molecular structure. Here, we switch on and off the molecular spin of a double-decker bis(phthalocyaninato)terbium(III) complex (TbPc 2) adsorbed on an Au(111) surface by applying an electric current via a scanning tunnelling microscope. The dI/dV curve of the tunnelling current recorded onto a TbPc 2 molecule shows a Kondo peak, the origin of which is an unpaired spin of a φ-orbital of a phthalocyaninato (Pc) ligand. By applying controlled current pulses, we could rotate the upper Pc ligand in TbPc 2, leading to the disappearance and reappearance of the Kondo resonance. The rotation shifts the molecular frontier-orbital energies, quenching the φ-electron spin. Reversible switching between two stable ligand orientations by applying a current pulse should make it possible to code information at the single-molecule level.

AB - In molecular spintronics, the spin state of a molecule may be switched on and off by changing the molecular structure. Here, we switch on and off the molecular spin of a double-decker bis(phthalocyaninato)terbium(III) complex (TbPc 2) adsorbed on an Au(111) surface by applying an electric current via a scanning tunnelling microscope. The dI/dV curve of the tunnelling current recorded onto a TbPc 2 molecule shows a Kondo peak, the origin of which is an unpaired spin of a φ-orbital of a phthalocyaninato (Pc) ligand. By applying controlled current pulses, we could rotate the upper Pc ligand in TbPc 2, leading to the disappearance and reappearance of the Kondo resonance. The rotation shifts the molecular frontier-orbital energies, quenching the φ-electron spin. Reversible switching between two stable ligand orientations by applying a current pulse should make it possible to code information at the single-molecule level.

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Observation and electric current control of a local spin in a single-molecule magnet

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