Mechanically Stable Kondo Resonance in an Organic Radical Molecular Junction

Abstract

Organic radicals are promising candidates for molecular spintronics due to their intrinsic magnetic moment, their low spin–orbit coupling, and their weak hyperfine interactions. Using a mechanically controlled break junction setup at both room and low temperatures (6 K), we analyze the difference in charge transport between two nitronyl nitroxide radicals (NNR): one with a backbone in the para configuration, the other with a backbone in the meta configuration. We find that para-NNR displays a Kondo resonance at 6 K, while meta-NNR does not. Additionally, the observed Kondo peak in the differential conductance has a roughly constant width independent of the conductance, consistent with a scenario where the molecule is coupled asymmetrically to the electrodes.