Abstract
Electrically tunable molecules are highly attractive for the construction of molecular devices, such as switches, transistors, or machines. A precise knowledge about their electronic properties, such as molecular states as well as information on how these can be manipulated is thus demanding. Here, we present a scanning tunneling microscopy study of organic molecules on a metal surface. Single 4-[trans-2-(pyrid-4-yl-vinyl)] benzoic acid (PVBA) molecules, as well as artificially constructed metal–organic complexes made of PVBA and one Cu atom and self-assembled metal–organic complexes are investigated. We demonstrate that a chemical bond between a copper atom and coordinating organic molecules adsorbed on a metal surface acts as a variable frequency switch, which can be actuated and probed by means of low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. Whereas below a threshold bias voltage the bond is permanently either formed or broken, the bonding state continuously oscillates at higher voltages. The switching rate of the bistable molecular system can be widely tuned from below 1 Hz up to the kilohertz regime. The quantum yield per tunneling electron to trigger a transition between the two states varies spatially and is related to the local density of states of the bonded and non-bonded configuration.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Giacomo Levita for the theoretical input and Mario Ruben for synthesizing the PVBA.
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Ohmann, R., Vitali, L., Kern, K. (2013). Imaging and Manipulation of Molecular Electronic States on Metal Surfaces with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy. In: Grill, L., Joachim, C. (eds) Imaging and Manipulating Molecular Orbitals. Advances in Atom and Single Molecule Machines. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38809-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38809-5_8
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