Environment turns molecule into a switch

Phys.org  November 26, 2018
An international team of researchers (Germany, Spain) used a manganese phthalocyanine molecule, which cannot be normally switched, and mounted it on a metallic surface built of silver and bismuth atoms. When a very fine tip emitting an electric field approached the manganese atom at the centre of the molecule, the molecule took on two stable switchable states. They demonstrated that this functionality can also be created in non-switchable molecules by selectively manipulating the molecule’s environment developing a new concept to build molecular switches which may open new design possibilities in molecular electronics in the future…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE

A flat molecule on a surface comprised of bismuth atoms (blue) and silver atoms (grey). The central manganese atom (red) is capable of changing its position. As a result, the molecule can take on two stable states. Credit: Jens Kügel

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