Li@C60 as a multi-state molecular switch

Henry J. Chandler; Minas Stefanou; Eleanor E. B. Campbell; Renald Schaub

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10300-2

Li@C₆₀ as a multi-state molecular switch

Henry J. Chandler, Minas Stefanou, Eleanor E. B. Campbell, Renald Schaub

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

Abstract

The field of molecular electronics aims at advancing the miniaturization of electronic devices, by exploiting single molecules to perform the function of individual components. A molecular switch is defined as a molecule that displays stability in two or more states (e.g. “on” and “off” involving conductance, conformation etc.) and upon application of a controlled external perturbation, electric or otherwise, undergoes a reversible change such that the molecule is altered. Previous work has shown multi-state molecular switches with up to four and six distinct states. Using low temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy, we report on a multi-state single molecule switch using the endohedral fullerene Li@C₆₀ that displays 14 molecular states which can be statistically accessed. We suggest a switching mechanism that relies on resonant tunnelling via the superatom molecular orbitals (SAMOs) of the fullerene cage as a means of Li activation, thereby bypassing the typical vibronic excitation of the carbon cage that is known to cause molecular decomposition.

Original language	English
Article number	2283
Number of pages	8
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10300-2
Publication status	Published - 23 May 2019

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Chandler_2019_NC_Molecularswitch_CC
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Final published version, 2.09 MBLicence: CC BY

SFC SRDG Centre SCISS: INTERDISCIPLINARY SCOTTISH CENTRE FOR SURFACE SPECTROSCOPY
Baumberger, F. (PI), Mackenzie, A. (CoI), Richardson, N. V. (CoI) & Schaub, R. (CoI)
Scottish Funding Council
1/06/07 → 31/05/11
Project: Standard

Renald Schaub
- rs51st-andrews.acuk
- School of Chemistry - Lecturer
- EaSTCHEM
Person: Academic

Exploring the Properties of Lithium Endohedral Fullerenes on Transition Metal Surfaces for Potential Use in Molecular Electronics (thesis data)
Chandler, H. J. (Creator) & Schaub, R. (Supervisor), University of St Andrews, 1 Aug 2022
DOI: 10.17630/9c7a8aa4-c8b7-465a-837d-9665119e64cd, http://hdl.handle.net/10023/20917
Dataset: Thesis dataset

File
Li@C60 as a multi-state molecular switch (dataset)
Chandler, H. J. (Creator), Stefanou, M. (Creator), Campbell, E. E. B. (Creator) & Schaub, R. (Creator), University of St Andrews, 30 Apr 2019
DOI: 10.17630/d440ef8d-6ccf-4fc4-aa37-0c601eb165a3
Dataset

File

Cite this

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title = "Li@C60 as a multi-state molecular switch",

abstract = "The field of molecular electronics aims at advancing the miniaturization of electronic devices, by exploiting single molecules to perform the function of individual components. A molecular switch is defined as a molecule that displays stability in two or more states (e.g. “on” and “off” involving conductance, conformation etc.) and upon application of a controlled external perturbation, electric or otherwise, undergoes a reversible change such that the molecule is altered. Previous work has shown multi-state molecular switches with up to four and six distinct states. Using low temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy, we report on a multi-state single molecule switch using the endohedral fullerene Li@C60 that displays 14 molecular states which can be statistically accessed. We suggest a switching mechanism that relies on resonant tunnelling via the superatom molecular orbitals (SAMOs) of the fullerene cage as a means of Li activation, thereby bypassing the typical vibronic excitation of the carbon cage that is known to cause molecular decomposition.",

author = "Chandler, {Henry J.} and Minas Stefanou and Campbell, {Eleanor E. B.} and Renald Schaub",

note = "R.S. acknowledges financial support from the Scottish Funding Council through SRD-Grant (HR07003). E.E.B.C. gratefully acknowledges Idea International Inc., Sendai, for providing samples of [Li@C60]+(PF6)–. H.J.C. and M.S. acknowledge financial support of EPSRC DTG studentships (EP/M508214/1 and EP/N509644/1, respectively).",

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AB - The field of molecular electronics aims at advancing the miniaturization of electronic devices, by exploiting single molecules to perform the function of individual components. A molecular switch is defined as a molecule that displays stability in two or more states (e.g. “on” and “off” involving conductance, conformation etc.) and upon application of a controlled external perturbation, electric or otherwise, undergoes a reversible change such that the molecule is altered. Previous work has shown multi-state molecular switches with up to four and six distinct states. Using low temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy, we report on a multi-state single molecule switch using the endohedral fullerene Li@C60 that displays 14 molecular states which can be statistically accessed. We suggest a switching mechanism that relies on resonant tunnelling via the superatom molecular orbitals (SAMOs) of the fullerene cage as a means of Li activation, thereby bypassing the typical vibronic excitation of the carbon cage that is known to cause molecular decomposition.

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Li@C60 as a multi-state molecular switch

Abstract

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SFC SRDG Centre SCISS: INTERDISCIPLINARY SCOTTISH CENTRE FOR SURFACE SPECTROSCOPY

Profiles

Renald Schaub

Datasets

Exploring the Properties of Lithium Endohedral Fullerenes on Transition Metal Surfaces for Potential Use in Molecular Electronics (thesis data)

Li@C60 as a multi-state molecular switch (dataset)

Cite this

Li@C₆₀ as a multi-state molecular switch