Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 46: Poster Organic Molecules on Inorganic Substrates: Electronic, Optical and Other Properties

O 46.3: Poster

Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 18:00–20:00, P2

stochastic spin-state switching of a Fe(II) complex on Cu (111) — •jasmeen jasmeen¹, sujoy karan¹, karl ridier², gaël reecht¹, and manuel gruber¹ — ¹Faculty of Physics and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, 47057 Duisburg, Germany — ²LCC, CNRS and Université de Toulouse, UPS, INP, 31077 Toulouse, France

Spin-crossover (SCO) molecules exhibit different spin states that make them attractive for nanoscale memory applications. Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at 4.5 K, we studied the [Fe(HB(1,2,4-triazolyl)3)2] complex adsorbed on a Cu (111) surface, focusing on the spin-state switching dynamics. Time traces of the tunneling current revealed switching in the order of milliseconds, which we investigated under a range of bias voltages and currents, providing insights into the stochastic response of this system.

Controlled switching of individual molecules induced by voltage pulses was successful, but also drove a pronounced neighborhood effect: switching a target molecule simultaneously influenced adjacent ones. These events suggest an intermolecular interaction acting on the neighboring molecules due to the conformational changes of the target molecule.

These findings help improving the understanding of electron-induced switching of SCO molecules. Funding from the CRC 1242 is acknowledged.

Keywords: spin-crossover; scanning tunneling microscopy; molecular dynamics