Magnetic bistability in a submonolayer of sublimated Fe4 single-molecule magnets.

Malavolti, Luigi; Lanzilotto, Valeria; Ninova, Silviya; Poggini, Lorenzo; Cimatti, Irene; Cortigiani, Brunetto; Margheriti, Ludovica; Chiappe, Daniele et al. · Nano Lett · 2015

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We demonstrate that Fe4 molecules can be deposited on gold by thermal sublimation in ultra-high vacuum with retention of single molecule magnet behavior. A magnetic hysteresis comparable to that found in bulk samples is indeed observed when a submonolayer film is studied by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Scanning tunneling microscopy evidences that Fe4 molecules are assembled in a two-dimensional lattice with short-range hexagonal order and coexist with a smaller contaminant. The presence of intact Fe4 molecules and the retention of their bistable magnetic behavior on the gold surface are supported by density functional theory calculations.