Ambient Bistable Single Dipole Switching in a Molecular Monolayer

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Kang Cui - , KU Leuven, University of Ji'nan (Author)
  • Kunal S. Mali - , KU Leuven (Author)
  • Dongqing Wu - , Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Author)
  • Xinliang Feng - , Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Author)
  • Klaus Müllen - , Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Author)
  • Michael Walter - , University of Freiburg, Cluster of Excellence livMatS @ FIT, Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials (Author)
  • Steven De Feyter - , KU Leuven (Author)
  • Stijn F.L. Mertens - , KU Leuven, Lancaster University (Author)

Abstract

Reported here is a molecular dipole that self-assembles into highly ordered patterns at the liquid-solid interface, and it can be switched at room temperature between a bright and a dark state at the single-molecule level. Using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) under suitable bias conditions, binary information can be written at a density of up to 41 Tb cm−2 (256 Tb/in2). The written information is stable during reading at room temperature, but it can also be erased at will, instantly, by proper choice of tunneling conditions. DFT calculations indicate that the contrast and switching mechanism originate from the stacking sequence of the molecular dipole, which is reoriented by the electric field between the tip and substrate.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)14049-14053
Number of pages5
JournalAngewandte Chemie - International Edition
Volume59
Issue number33
Publication statusPublished - 10 Aug 2020
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

PubMed 32391649

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • density-functional calculations, molecular electronics, scanning tunneling microscopy, self-assembly, single-molecule studies