Description
New classes of molecular magnetic materials have emerged from developments in on-surface synthesis. The continued development, profound understanding, and potential application of these materials require precise characterization of their magnetic properties. In recent years, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) using nickelocene-functionalized probes have emerged as a new atomic-scale magnetic characterization tool. Here, we conduct SPM measurements with nickelocene to characterize several nanographene isomers on Au(111). We show that scanning tunnelling spectra acquired with nickelocene-decorated tips produce unique fingerprints for different molecules, which allow for precise determination of the molecule’s magnetic ground state, and discrimination between near-degenerate states. We also show that this technique can be used to map the molecule’s spin density at the atomic scale. This method expands the already outstanding imaging capabilities of SPM, providing a new lens through which to study low-dimensional magnetic systems with unprecedented spatial resolution.
| I am the presenting author | Yes |
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