Chains of Spin-Crossover Complexes Synthesized on the Ag(111) Surface
Abstract
Artificial spin chains composed of switchable units are a key objective in molecular spintronics, but their creation on surfaces is a challenge. Spin-crossover molecules allow for the reversible switching between spin states and could provide a means of creating such functional nanostructures through on-surface synthesis. We report the first on-surface thermally activated Ullmann coupling of spin-crossover complexes on a Ag(111) surface. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we demonstrated the formation of molecular chains with electrically tunable spin states. The conductance spectra of individual molecules in chains exhibit spin-flip excitations. A comparison to a Heisenberg spin chain shows that the spins are antiferromagnetically coupled. Reversible manipulation of the molecules in the chains suppresses the spin excitations, indicating a transition from high spin to low spin S = 0. Overall, these observations confirm that Ullmann coupling on surfaces is a viable strategy for engineering electrically programmable spin chains with a spin-crossover functionality.
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BibTeX
@article{pabi2026chains,
title = {{Chains of Spin-Crossover Complexes Synthesized on the Ag(111) Surface}},
author = {Biswajit Pabi and Lydia Adam and Jan Krahmer and Beshr Madaraty and Cyrille Barreteau and Alexander Weismann and Felix Tuczek and Richard Berndt},
journal = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1021/jacs.6c15342},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05766557v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Chains of Spin-Crossover Complexes Synthesized on the Ag(111) Surface
AU - Biswajit Pabi
AU - Lydia Adam
AU - Jan Krahmer
AU - Beshr Madaraty
AU - Cyrille Barreteau
AU - Alexander Weismann
AU - Felix Tuczek
AU - Richard Berndt
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
JO - Journal of the American Chemical Society
DO - 10.1021/jacs.6c15342
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05766557v1
AB - Artificial spin chains composed of switchable units are a key objective in molecular spintronics, but their creation on surfaces is a challenge. Spin-crossover molecules allow for the reversible switching between spin states and could provide a means of creating such functional nanostructures through on-surface synthesis. We report the first on-surface thermally activated Ullmann coupling of spin-crossover complexes on a Ag(111) surface. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we demonstrated the formation of molecular chains with electrically tunable spin states. The conductance spectra of individual molecules in chains exhibit spin-flip excitations. A comparison to a Heisenberg spin chain shows that the spins are antiferromagnetically coupled. Reversible manipulation of the molecules in the chains suppresses the spin excitations, indicating a transition from high spin to low spin S = 0. Overall, these observations confirm that Ullmann coupling on surfaces is a viable strategy for engineering electrically programmable spin chains with a spin-crossover functionality.
SN - 0002-7863
SN - 1520-5126
ER -