Chirality induced spin selectivity in electron transport investigated by scanning probe microscopy.

Chirality induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect implies the relationship between chirality and magnetism, attracting extensive attention in the fields of physics, chemistry and biology. Since it was first discovered with photoemission method in 1999, the CISS effect has been investigated and measured by a variety of methods. Among different means of measurements, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) as a powerful tool to explore the CISS effect, can directly measure and present the spin filtering property of chiral molecules in electron transport.

Structure transformation from Sierpiński triangles to chains assisted by gas molecules.

Reversible transformations between fractals and periodic structures are of fundamental importance for understanding the formation mechanism of fractals. Currently, it is still a challenge to controllably achieve such a transformation. We investigate the effect of CO and CO molecules on Sierpiński triangles (STs) assembled from Fe atoms and 4,4″-dicyano-1,1':3',1″-terphenyl (C3PC) molecules on Au surfaces.

Observation of Biradical Spin Coupling through Hydrogen Bonds.

Investigation of intermolecular electron spin interaction is of fundamental importance in both science and technology. Here, radical pairs of all-trans retinoic acid molecules on Au(111) are created using an ultralow temperature scanning tunneling microscope. Antiferromagnetic coupling between two radicals is identified by magnetic-field-dependent spectroscopy.

Packing Biomolecules into Sierpiński Triangles with Global Organizational Chirality.

Fractals are found in nature and play important roles in biological functions. However, it is challenging to controllably prepare biomolecule fractals. In this study, a series of Sierpiński triangles with global organizational chirality is successfully constructed by the coassembly of l-tryptophan and 1,3-bi(4-pyridyl)benzene molecules on Ag(111).

On-surface preparation of coordinated lanthanide-transition-metal clusters.

The study of lanthanide (Ln)-transition-metal (TM) heterometallic clusters which play key roles in various high-tech applications is a rapid growing field of research. Despite the achievement of numerous Ln-TM cluster compounds comprising one Ln atom, the synthesis of Ln-TM clusters containing multiple Ln atoms remains challenging. Here, we present the preparation and self-assembly of a series of Au-bridged heterometallic clusters containing multiple cerium (Ce) atoms via on-surface coordination.

Tuning rotation axes of single molecular rotors by a combination of single-atom manipulation and single-molecule chemistry.

Defining the axis of a molecular rotation is vital for the bottom-up design of molecular rotors. The rotation of tin-phthalocyanine molecules on the Ag(111) surface is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic/molecular manipulation at 4 K. Tin-phthalocyanine acts as a molecular rotor that binds to Ag adatoms and the substrate.

Cu-metalated carbyne acting as a promising molecular wire.

The atomic structure and electronic transport properties of Cu-metalated carbyne are investigated by using the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism combined with density functional theory. Our calculations show that the incorporation of Cu atom in carbyne improves its robustness against Peierls distortion, thus to make Cu-metalated carbyne behave as a one-dimensional metal. When a finite Cu-metalated carbyne chain is connected to two (111)-oriented platinum electrodes, nearly linear current-voltage characteristics are obtained for both the atop and adatom binding sites.

Effects of the molecule-electrode interface on the low-bias conductance of Cu-H2-Cu single-molecule junctions.

The atomic structure and electronic transport properties of a single hydrogen molecule connected to both symmetric and asymmetric Cu electrodes are investigated by using the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism combined with the density functional theory. Our calculations show that in symmetric Cu-H2-Cu junctions, the low-bias conductance drops rapidly upon stretching, while asymmetric ones present a low-bias conductance spanning the 0.2-0.

Controlling Molecular Growth between Fractals and Crystals on Surfaces.

Recent studies demonstrate that simple functional molecules, which usually form two-dimensional (2D) crystal structures when adsorbed on solid substrates, are also able to self-assemble into ordered openwork fractal aggregates. To direct and control the growth of such fractal supramolecules, it is necessary to explore the conditions under which both fractal and crystalline patterns develop and coexist. In this contribution, we study the coexistence of Sierpiński triangle (ST) fractals and 2D molecular crystals that were formed by 4,4″-dihydroxy-1,1':3',1″-terphenyl molecules on Au(111) in ultrahigh vacuum.

ZnO Hierarchical Nanostructure Photoanode in a CdS Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cell.

A hierarchical array of ZnO nanocones covered with ZnO nanospikes was hydrothermally fabricated and employed as the photoanode in a CdS quantum dot-sensitized solar cell (QDSSC). This QDSSC outperformed the QDSSC based on a simple ZnO nanocone photoanode in all the four principal photovoltaic parameters. Using the hierarchical photoanode dramatically increased the short circuit current density and also slightly raised the open circuit voltage and the fill factor.

Nanogap based graphene coated AFM tips with high spatial resolution, conductivity and durability.

After one decade of analyzing the intrinsic properties of graphene, interest into the development of graphene-based devices and micro electromechanical systems is increasing. Here, we fabricate graphene-coated atomic force microscope tips by growing the graphene on copper foil and transferring it onto the apex of a commercially available AFM tip. The resulting tip exhibits surprising enhanced resolution in nanoscale electrical measurements.

Helicity-dependent single-walled carbon nanotube alignment on graphite for helical angle and handedness recognition.

Aligned single-walled carbon nanotube arrays provide a great potential for the carbon-based nanodevices and circuit integration. Aligning single-walled carbon nanotubes with selected helicities and identifying their helical structures remain a daunting issue. The widely used gas-directed and surface-directed growth modes generally suffer the drawbacks of mixed and unknown helicities of the aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Half-metallic properties of single-walled polymeric manganese phthalocyanine nanotubes.

We present a theoretical study of the electronic and magnetic properties of single-walled manganese phthalocyanine (MnPc) nanotubes which can be thought of as rolled-up ribbons of the two-dimensional (2D) polymeric MnPc sheet. Our density functional theory calculations show that all of the MnPc nanotubes investigated here are half-metals with 100% spin polarization around the Fermi level. Following the increase of the tube diameter, the number of spin-down energy bands of MnPc nanotubes is always increased while the spin-up band gap of MnPc nanotubes approaches that of the 2D MnPc sheet in an oscillatory manner.

Effects of the covalent linker groups on the spin transport properties of single nickelocene molecules attached to single-walled carbon nanotubes.

The understanding of how the spin moment of a magnetic molecule transfers to a carbon nanotube, when the molecule is attached to it, is crucial for designing novel supramolecular spin devices. Here we explore such an issue by modeling the spin transport of a single-walled carbon nanotube grafted with one nickelocene molecule. In particular we investigate how the electron transport becomes spin-polarized depending on the specific linking group bonding nickelocene to the nanotube.

Spin transport properties of single metallocene molecules attached to single-walled carbon nanotubes via nickel adatoms.

The spin-dependent transport properties of single ferrocene, cobaltocene, and nickelocene molecules attached to the sidewall of a (4,4) armchair single-walled carbon nanotube via a Ni adatom are investigated by using a self-consistent ab initio approach that combines the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism with the spin density functional theory. Our calculations show that the Ni adatom not only binds strongly to the sidewall of the nanotube, but also maintains the spin degeneracy and affects little the transmission around the Fermi level. When the Ni adatom further binds to a metallocene molecule, its density of states is modulated by that of the molecule and electron scattering takes place in the nanotube.

Spin transport properties of 3d transition metal(II) phthalocyanines in contact with single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes.

The spin transport properties of a series of 3d transition metal(ii) phthalocyanines (MPc, M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn) sandwiched between two semi-infinite armchair single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes are investigated by using a self-consistent ab initio approach that combines the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism with spin density functional theory. Our calculations show that among the six molecules only MnPc and FePc can act as nearly perfect spin filters and at the same time have a large transmission around the Fermi level. This is dominated by the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the corresponding MPc molecule.

Electronic transport calculations for the conductance of Pt-1,4-phenylene diisocyanide-Pt molecular junctions.

The low-bias transport properties of a single 1,4-phenylene diisocyanide (PDI) molecule connected to two platinum (Pt) electrodes are investigated using a self-consistent ab initio approach that combines the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism with density functional theory. Our calculations demonstrate that the zero-bias conductance of an asymmetric Pt-PDI-Pt junction, where the PDI molecule is attached to the atop site at one Pt(111) electrode and to a Pt adatom at the other, is 2.6 x 10( - 2)G(0), in good agreement with the experimental value (3 x 10( - 2)G(0)) measured with break junctions.

Tuning the magneto-transport properties of nickel-cyclopentadienyl multidecker clusters by molecule-electrode coupling manipulation.

Spin transport in a series of organometallic multidecker clusters made of alternating nickel atoms and cyclopentadienyl (Cp) rings is investigated by using first-principles quantum transport simulations. The magnetic moment of finite NinCp(n+1) clusters in the gas phase is a periodic function of the number of NiCp monomers, n, regardless of the cluster termination and despite the fact that the band structure of the infinite [NiCp]infinity chain is nonmagnetic. In contrast, when the clusters are sandwiched between gold electrodes, their spin polarization is found to strongly depend on the molecule-electrode coupling.

Spin filter effect of manganese phthalocyanine contacted with single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes.

We present a theoretical study of the spin transport through a manganese phthalocyanine (MnPc) molecule sandwiched between two semi-infinite armchair single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) electrodes. Ab initio modeling is performed by combing the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism with spin density functional theory. Our calculations show that MnPc not only can act as a nearly perfect spin filter, but also has a large transmission around the Fermi level, which is dominated by the highest occupied molecule orbital (HOMO).

The spin filter effect of iron-cyclopentadienyl multidecker clusters: the role of the electrode band structure and the coupling strength.

We present a theoretical study of spin transport in a series of organometallic iron-cyclopentadienyl, Fe(n)Cp(n+1), multidecker clusters sandwiched between either gold or platinum electrodes. Ab initio modeling is performed by combining the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism with spin density functional theory. Due to the intrinsic bonding nature, the low-bias conductance of the Fe(n)Cp(n+1) clusters contacted to gold electrodes is relatively small even for strong cluster-electrode coupling.

Effects of spin-orbit coupling on the conductance of molecules contacted with gold electrodes.

The effects of spin-orbit coupling on the conductance of molecular devices made with Au electrodes are investigated using a fully self-consistent ab initio approach, which combines the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism with density functional theory. In general, we find that the extent to which spin-orbit interaction affects the transport depends on the specific materials system investigated and on the dimensionality of the electrodes. For one-dimensional electrodes contacting benzene-dithiol molecules the spin-orbit coupling induces changes in the low-bias conductance up to about 20%.

First-principles calculation on the conductance of a single 1,4-diisocyanatobenzene molecule with single-walled carbon nanotubes as the electrodes.

The conductance of a single 1,4-diisocyanatobenzene molecule sandwiched between two single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) electrodes are studied using a fully self-consistent ab initio approach which combines nonequilibrium Green's function formalism with density functional theory calculations. Several metallic zigzag and armchair SWCNTs with different diameters are used as electrodes; dangling bonds at their open ends are terminated with hydrogen atoms. Within the energy range of a few eV of the Fermi energy, all the SWCNT electrodes couple strongly only with the frontier molecular orbitals that are related to nonlocal pi bonds.

Analysis on the contribution of molecular orbitals to the conductance of molecular electronic devices.

We present a theoretical approach which allows one to extract the orbital contribution to the conductance of molecular electronic devices. This is achieved by calculating the scattering wave functions after the Hamiltonian matrix of the extended molecule is obtained from a self-consistent calculation that combines the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism with density functional theory employing a finite basis of local atomic orbitals. As an example, the contribution of molecular orbitals to the conductance of a model system consisting of a 4,4-bipyridine molecule connected to two semi-infinite gold monatomic chains is explored, illustrating the capability of our approach.

Evaluation of basis sets with 11-electron analytic effective core potentials of gold for modeling molecular electronic devices.

Three types of 11-electron analytic effective core potentials (ECPs) and their corresponding double-zeta and single-zeta basis sets of gold are evaluated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We find that, compared with basis sets derived for use with Hatree-Fock-based Los Alamos (LANL1) and Ermler-Christiansen (EC) ECPs, the DFT-derived Troullier-Martins (TM) ECP together with a single-zeta basis set (TMSZ) is more suitable to describe not only the interaction between gold atoms with a benzene-1,4-dithiolate molecule but also the electronic structure of an infinite 1-dimensional monatomic gold chain. Hence, TMSZ is the best single-zeta basis set with an 11-electron ECP for gold available currently to be used in theoretical calculations on electrical properties of molecular electronic devices with DFT based Green's function method employing a finite analytic basis of local orbitals.