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SYAW: Awards Symposium

SYAW 1: Prize Talks

SYAW 1.7: Preisträgervortrag

Mittwoch, 29. September 2021, 16:50–17:20, Audimax 1

Imaging the effect of electron transfer at the atomic scale — •Laerte Patera — Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany — Laureate of the Gustav-Hertz-Prize 2020

Electron transfer plays a crucial role in many chemical processes, from photosynthesis to combustion and corrosion. However, the way in which redox reactions affect individual molecules and, in particular, their electronic structure, remains largely unclear. Unveiling these fundamental aspects requires the development of experimental tools allowing the observation of electron transfer down to the single molecule level. Here, we demonstrate the capability of performing tunnelling experiments on non-conductive substrates to map the orbital structure of isolated molecules upon electron transfer. By driving a change in the redox state of a molecule synchronized with the oscillating tip of an Atomic Force Microscope, previously inaccessible electronic transitions are resolved in space and energy [1]. Our results unveil the effects of electron transfer and polaron formation on the single-orbital scale, opening the door to the investigation of redox reactions and charging-related phenomena with sub-ångström resolution.

[1] L. L. Patera, F. Queck, P. Scheuerer and J. Repp, Nature 566, 245-248 (2019).