Magnetic Fingerprints in an All-Organic Radical Molecular Break Junction
T.Y. Baum (TU Delft - QN/van der Zant Lab, Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft)
Saleta Fernández (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela)
Diego Peña (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela)
Herre Van Der Van der Zant (Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft, TU Delft - QN/van der Zant Lab)
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Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons radicals are organic molecules with a nonzero total magnetic moment. Here, we report on charge-transport experiments with bianthracene-based radicals using a mechanically controlled break junction technique at low temperatures (6 K). The conductance spectra demonstrate that the magnetism of the diradical is preserved in solid-state devices and that it manifests itself either in the form of a Kondo resonance or inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy signature caused by spin-flip processes. The magnetic fingerprints depend on the exact configuration of the molecule in the junction; this picture is supported by reference measurements on a radical molecule with the same backbone but with one free spin, in which only Kondo anomalies are observed. The results show that the open-shell structures based on the bianthracene core are interesting systems to study spin-spin interactions in solid-state devices, and this may open the way to control them either electrically or by mechanical strain.
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