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

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 2; no. 1; p. 217
• Main Authors: Komeda, Tadahiro, Yamashita, Masahiro, Isshiki, Hironari, Liu, Jie, Zhang, Yan-Feng, Lorente, Nicolás, Katoh, Keiichi, Breedlove, Brian K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01-03-2011; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 639/766/119/1001; 639/925/357/997; 639/925/927/998; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1210

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 d
I
/d
V
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 π-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 π-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.
In molecular spintronics, the spin state of a molecule may be switched by changing the molecular structure. Here, the spin of a single-molecule magnet is switched by applying an electric current using a scanning tunnelling microscope, which may aid in information coding at the single-molecule level.