Sub-molecular Control of Photo-assisted Activation of a Single C-H Bond

ORAL

Abstract

We demonstrate the bond-selected and photo-assisted activation of a single C-H bond in individual azulene molecules adsorbed on a Ag(110) surface using a scanning tunneling microscope combined with a femtosecond laser. Under laser irradiation, the electrons in the STM tip can be photo-excited and tunnel to when irradiated by laser, and dissociate individual C-H bonds of a molecule in the STM junction. The threshold bias to break the bond decreased from 2.5 V to 1.0 V under 820 nm (1.5 eV) laser illumination. The C-H bond to be activated can be chosen by positioning the tip over that bond in the molecule with sub-Angstrom resolution. The inelastic tunneling probe (itProbe) images provide structural identification of the intact molecule and the reaction products. The demonstration of a chemical reaction induced by photo-assisted tunneling electrons opens a new avenue to probe the photochemistry of single adsorbed molecules with sub-molecular resolution.

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Presenters

  • Shaowei Li

    • Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine
    • Physics, Univ of California - Irvine

Authors

  • Shaowei Li

    • Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine
    • Physics, Univ of California - Irvine

  • Gregory Czap

    • University of California, Irvine
    • Physics, Univ of California - Irvine
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Univ of California - Irvine

  • Hui Wang

    • Univ of California - Irvine
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Univ of California - Irvine
    • Physics, Univ of California - Irvine

  • Arthur Yu

    • Physics, Univ of California - Irvine

  • Siyu Chen

    • Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine
    • Physics, Univ of California - Irvine

  • Ruqian Wu

    • Univ of California - Irvine
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Univ of California - Irvine
    • University of California, Irvine
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine
    • Physics, Univ of California - Irvine

  • Wilson Ho

    • Physics and Astronomy, Univ of California - Irvine
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine
    • University of California, Irvine
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine
    • Univ of California - Irvine
    • Physics, Univ of California - Irvine
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Univ of California - Irvine