Formation and manipulation of diatomic rotors at the symmetry-breaking surfaces of kagome superconductors

Abstract

Artificial molecular rotors and motors hold great promise for functional nanomachines, but constructing diatomic rotors, crucial for these machines, is challenging due to surface constraints and limited chemical design. Here we report the construction of diatomic Cr-Cs and Fe-Cs rotors where a Cr or Fe atom revolves around a Cs atom at the Sb surface of the newly-discovered kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5. The rotation rate is controlled by bias voltage between the rotor and scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip. The spatial distribution of rates exhibits C2 symmetry, might linked to the symmetry-breaking charge orders of CsV3Sb5. We have expanded rotor construction to include different transition metals (Cr, Fe, V) and alkali metals (Cs, K). Remarkably, designed configurations of rotors are achieved through STM manipulation. Rotor orbits and quantum states are precisely controlled by tunning inter-rotor distance. Our findings establish a novel platform for the atomically precise fabrication of atomic motors on symmetry-breaking quantum materials, paving the way for advanced nanoscale devices.