RT Journal Article
T1 Single spin localization and manipulation in graphene open-shell nanostructures
A1 Li, Jingcheng
A1 Sanz, Sofia
A1 Choi, Deung Jang
A1 Corso, Martina
A1 Peña Gil, Diego
A1 Frederiksen, Thomas
A1 Pascual, Jose Ignacio
K1 Graphene
K1 Nanostructures
AB Turning graphene magnetic is a promising challenge to make it an active material for spintronics. Predictions state that graphene structures with specific shapes can spontaneously develop magnetism driven by Coulomb repulsion of π-electrons, but its experimental verification is demanding. Here, we report on the observation and manipulation of individual magnetic moments in graphene open-shell nanostructures on a gold surface. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy, we detect the presence of single electron spins localized around certain zigzag sites of the carbon backbone via the Kondo effect. We find near-by spins coupled into a singlet ground state and quantify their exchange interaction via singlet-triplet inelastic electron excitations. Theoretical simulations picture how electron correlations result in spin-polarized radical states with the experimentally observed spatial distributions. Extra hydrogen atoms bound to radical sites quench their magnetic moment and switch the spin of the nanostructure in half-integer amounts. Our work demonstrates the intrinsic π-paramagnetism of graphene nanostructures
PB Nature publishing group
YR 2019
FD 2019
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21314
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21314
LA eng
NO Li, J., Sanz, S., Corso, M. et al. Single spin localization and manipulation in graphene open-shell nanostructures. Nat Commun 10, 200 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-08060-6
NO We acknowledge financial support from Spanish AEI (MAT2016-78293-C6, FIS2017-83780-P, and the Maria de Maeztu Units of Excellence Program MDM-2016-0618), the Basque Government (Department of Education, Grant PI-2015-1-42), the EU project PAMS (610446), the Xunta de Galicia (Centro singular de investigación de Galicia accreditation 2016-2019, ED431G/09), and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
DS Minerva
RD 24 abr 2026