A fundamental step towards atomic- or molecular-scale spintronicdevices has recently been made by demonstrating that the spin of an individual atom deposited on a surface, or of a small paramagnetic molecule embedded in a nanojunction, can be externally controlled. An appealing next step is the extension of such a capability to the field of information storage, by taking advantage of the magnetic bistability and rich quantum behaviour of single-molecule magnets (SMMs). Recently, a proof of concept that the magnetic memory effect is retained when SMMs are chemically anchored to a metallic surface was provided. However, control of the nanoscale organization of these complex systems is required for SMMs to be integrated into molecular spintronic devices. Here we show that a preferential orientation of Fe4 complexes on a gold surface can be achieved by chemical tailoring. As a result, the most striking quantum feature of SMMs—their stepped hysteresis loop, which results from resonantquantum tunnelling of the magnetization—can be clearly detectedusing synchrotron-based spectroscopic techniques. With the aid ofmultiple theoretical approaches, we relate the angular dependence of the quantum tunnelling resonances to the adsorption geometry, and demonstrate that molecules predominantly lie with their easy axes close to the surface normal. Our findings prove that the quantum spin dynamics can be observed in SMMs chemically grafted to surfaces, and offer a tool to reveal the organization of matter at the nanoscale.

Quantum Tunneling of the Magnetization in a Monolayer of Oriented Single Molecule Magnets / M., Mannini; F., Pineider; Danieli, Chiara; F., Totti; L., Sorace; Sainctavit, P. h.; M. A., Arrio; E., Otero; L., Joly; J. C., Cesar; Cornia, Andrea; R., Sessoli. - In: NATURE. - ISSN 0028-0836. - STAMPA. - 468:(2010), pp. 417-421. [10.1038/nature09478]

Quantum Tunneling of the Magnetization in a Monolayer of Oriented Single Molecule Magnets

DANIELI, Chiara;CORNIA, Andrea;
2010

Abstract

A fundamental step towards atomic- or molecular-scale spintronicdevices has recently been made by demonstrating that the spin of an individual atom deposited on a surface, or of a small paramagnetic molecule embedded in a nanojunction, can be externally controlled. An appealing next step is the extension of such a capability to the field of information storage, by taking advantage of the magnetic bistability and rich quantum behaviour of single-molecule magnets (SMMs). Recently, a proof of concept that the magnetic memory effect is retained when SMMs are chemically anchored to a metallic surface was provided. However, control of the nanoscale organization of these complex systems is required for SMMs to be integrated into molecular spintronic devices. Here we show that a preferential orientation of Fe4 complexes on a gold surface can be achieved by chemical tailoring. As a result, the most striking quantum feature of SMMs—their stepped hysteresis loop, which results from resonantquantum tunnelling of the magnetization—can be clearly detectedusing synchrotron-based spectroscopic techniques. With the aid ofmultiple theoretical approaches, we relate the angular dependence of the quantum tunnelling resonances to the adsorption geometry, and demonstrate that molecules predominantly lie with their easy axes close to the surface normal. Our findings prove that the quantum spin dynamics can be observed in SMMs chemically grafted to surfaces, and offer a tool to reveal the organization of matter at the nanoscale.
2010
468
417
421
Quantum Tunneling of the Magnetization in a Monolayer of Oriented Single Molecule Magnets / M., Mannini; F., Pineider; Danieli, Chiara; F., Totti; L., Sorace; Sainctavit, P. h.; M. A., Arrio; E., Otero; L., Joly; J. C., Cesar; Cornia, Andrea; R., Sessoli. - In: NATURE. - ISSN 0028-0836. - STAMPA. - 468:(2010), pp. 417-421. [10.1038/nature09478]
M., Mannini; F., Pineider; Danieli, Chiara; F., Totti; L., Sorace; Sainctavit, P. h.; M. A., Arrio; E., Otero; L., Joly; J. C., Cesar; Cornia, Andrea; R., Sessoli
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
nature09478.pdf

Solo gestori archivio

Tipologia: Versione pubblicata dall'editore
Dimensione 646.85 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
646.85 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Pubblicazioni consigliate

Licenza Creative Commons
I metadati presenti in IRIS UNIMORE sono rilasciati con licenza Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal, mentre i file delle pubblicazioni sono rilasciati con licenza Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale (CC BY 4.0), salvo diversa indicazione.
In caso di violazione di copyright, contattare Supporto Iris

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11380/649411
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 46
  • Scopus 552
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 537
social impact