A team of Chinese scientists, including HOU Jianguo and ZHU Qingshi, both academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Prof. YANG Jinlong with University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), have recently performed an ??operation?¯ on a cobalt phthalocyanine molecule adsorbed on the metal surface, and successfully placed the self-spin of the molecule under control, using a low-temperature and super vacuum scanning tunneling microscope.
The development marks the first chemical reaction triggered within a molecule, and changing and controlling its physical properties through a localized chemical reaction. The finding creates an extremely important new approach for realizing major physical effects, and for preparing functional components made up of single-molecule. The finding was published in the recent issue of Science, together with an introduction and review in the associated column.
Starting from 2002, USTC researchers have worked tirelessly to unveil the physical and chemical properties of cobalt phthalocyanine molecule adsorbed on the metal surface. They skillfully cut away hydrogen atoms from the molecule, allowing this molecule to chemically bond to the metal substrate. Researchers found that when adsorbed on the metal surface, the cobalt phthalocyanine molecule will see a complete disappearance of the localized cobaltous magnetic array at its center. The accurate operation is able to change the molecule?¯s entire spatial and electronic structures. The technique can be used to change and control the self-spin of cobalt ions, allowing the appearance of Kondo resonance caused by localized magnetism. |