Andrea Luigi Sorrentino, Lorenzo Poggini, Giulia Serrano, Giuseppe Cucinotta, Brunetto Cortigiani, Luigi Malavolti, Francesca Parenti, Edwige Otero, Marie-Anne Arrio, Philippe Sainctavit, Andrea Caneschi, Andrea Cornia, Roberta Sessoli and Matteo Mannini
{"title":"Assembling Fe4 single-molecule magnets on a TiO2 monolayer†","authors":"Andrea Luigi Sorrentino, Lorenzo Poggini, Giulia Serrano, Giuseppe Cucinotta, Brunetto Cortigiani, Luigi Malavolti, Francesca Parenti, Edwige Otero, Marie-Anne Arrio, Philippe Sainctavit, Andrea Caneschi, Andrea Cornia, Roberta Sessoli and Matteo Mannini","doi":"10.1039/D4NR02234C","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p >The decoration of technologically relevant surfaces, such as metal oxides, with Single-Molecule Magnets (SMMs) constitutes a persistent challenge for the integration of these molecular systems into novel technologies and, in particular, for the development of spintronic and quantum devices. We used UHV thermal sublimation to deposit tetrairon(<small>III</small>) propeller-shaped SMMs (Fe<small><sub>4</sub></small>) as a single layer on a TiO<small><sub>2</sub></small> ultrathin film grown on Cu(001). The properties of the molecular deposit were studied using a multi-technique approach based on standard topographic and spectroscopic measurements, which demonstrated that molecules remain largely intact upon deposition. Ultralow temperature X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) with linearly and circularly polarized light was further employed to evaluate both the molecular organization and the magnetic properties of the Fe<small><sub>4</sub></small> monolayer. X-ray Natural Linear Dichroism (XNLD) and X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) showed that molecules in a monolayer display a preferential orientation and an open magnetic hysteresis with pronounced quantum tunnelling steps up to 900 mK. However, unexpected extra features in the XAS and XMCD spectra disclosed a minority fraction of altered molecules, suggesting that the TiO<small><sub>2</sub></small> film may be chemically non-innocent. The observed persistence of SMM behaviour on a metal oxide thin film opens new possibilities for the development of SMM-based hybrid systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":92,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/nr/d4nr02234c?page=search","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nanoscale","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/nr/d4nr02234c","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The decoration of technologically relevant surfaces, such as metal oxides, with Single-Molecule Magnets (SMMs) constitutes a persistent challenge for the integration of these molecular systems into novel technologies and, in particular, for the development of spintronic and quantum devices. We used UHV thermal sublimation to deposit tetrairon(III) propeller-shaped SMMs (Fe4) as a single layer on a TiO2 ultrathin film grown on Cu(001). The properties of the molecular deposit were studied using a multi-technique approach based on standard topographic and spectroscopic measurements, which demonstrated that molecules remain largely intact upon deposition. Ultralow temperature X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) with linearly and circularly polarized light was further employed to evaluate both the molecular organization and the magnetic properties of the Fe4 monolayer. X-ray Natural Linear Dichroism (XNLD) and X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) showed that molecules in a monolayer display a preferential orientation and an open magnetic hysteresis with pronounced quantum tunnelling steps up to 900 mK. However, unexpected extra features in the XAS and XMCD spectra disclosed a minority fraction of altered molecules, suggesting that the TiO2 film may be chemically non-innocent. The observed persistence of SMM behaviour on a metal oxide thin film opens new possibilities for the development of SMM-based hybrid systems.
期刊介绍:
Nanoscale is a high-impact international journal, publishing high-quality research across nanoscience and nanotechnology. Nanoscale publishes a full mix of research articles on experimental and theoretical work, including reviews, communications, and full papers.Highly interdisciplinary, this journal appeals to scientists, researchers and professionals interested in nanoscience and nanotechnology, quantum materials and quantum technology, including the areas of physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, materials, energy/environment, information technology, detection science, healthcare and drug discovery, and electronics.