Low Temperature STM Studies of Single Rare-Earth Molecules on Surfaces

ORAL

Abstract

Rare-earth metals are important for many technological applications from catalysis, emission, energy up-conversion to quantum information science. Local environment of rare-earth metals play vital role in their applications and engineering of electronic, and magnetic structures of rare-earth systems are of great interest. One of the best options to control the environment of rare-earth ions is to place them in molecular scaffolds where the ligands not only protect them but also can be used to modify their electronic and magnetic properties. Here, we have developed a variety of rare-earth based molecular systems that can be deposited onto materials surfaces intact under ultrahigh vacuum environment. Atomic level characterizations of structural and electronic properties of individual rare-earth molecular systems are performed with a low temperature ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscope (UHV-LT-STM) capable of single molecule tunneling spectroscopy and controlled manipulation of atoms/molecules on surfaces. dI/dV tunneling spectroscopy, and spectroscopic mapping of single molecules containing caged Eu, La, Lu, and Tb rare-earth metals adsorbed on metal surfaces such as Au(111) and Cu(111) reveal the energy gaps of highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO-LUMO) as well as the spatial locations of electronic states within the molecules. The experimental measurements are corroborated by density functional theory calculations to understand their electronic states.

*This work was supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering Division. Use of the Center for Nanoscale Materials, an Office of Science user facility, was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

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Presenters

  • Kyaw Zin Latt

    • Ohio University
    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Nanoscience & Technology Division, Argonne National laboratory

Authors

  • Kyaw Zin Latt

    • Ohio University
    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Nanoscience & Technology Division, Argonne National laboratory

  • Daniel J Trainer

    • Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Temple University

  • Tolulope Michael M Ajayi

    • Ohio University
    • Ohio University & Argonne National Laboratory

  • Vijay R Singh

    • Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60608, United States, Materials Science Division, ANL, Argonne, IL, USA
    • Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607
    • Univ Illinois at Chicago & MSD, ANL
    • University of Illinois at Chicago
    • Chemical Engineering Department, University of Illinois at Chicago
    • Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60608, United States, Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, IL, USA

  • Shaoze Wang

    • Ohio University
    • Ohio University & Argonne National Laboratory
    • Physics & Astronomy Department, Ohio University & Argonne National Laboratory

  • Sineth Premarathna

    • Ohio University
    • Ohio University & Argonne National Laboratory
    • Department of Physics & Astronomy, Ohio University & Argonne National Laboratory

  • Xinyue Cheng

    • Ohio University
    • Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Ohio University

  • Sanjoy Sarkar

    • Ohio University
    • Department of Physics & Astronomy, Ohio University

  • Anh T Ngo

    • Univ of Illinois at Chicago & MSD, ANL
    • University of Illinois at Chicago
    • Univeristy of Illinois at Chicago; Argonne National Laboratory
    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Chemical Engineering Department, University of Illinois at Chicago

  • Eric Masson

    • Ohio University
    • Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Ohio University

  • Saw Wai, Hla

    • Argonne National Lab; Ohio University
    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Argonne National Laboratory; Ohio University