title: Remotely Controlled Isomer Selective Molecular Switching.
abstract: Nonlocal addressing-the "remote control"-of molecular switches promises more efficient processing for information technology, where fast speed of switching is essential. The surface state of the (111) facets of noble metals, a confined two-dimensional electron gas, provides a medium that enables transport of signals over large distances and hence can be used to address an entire ensemble of molecules simultaneously with a single stimulus. In this study we employ this characteristic to trigger a conformational switch in anthradithiophene (ADT) molecules by injection of hot carriers from a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip into the surface state of Cu(111). The carriers propagate laterally and trigger the switch in molecules at distances as far as 100 nm from the tip location. The switching process is shown to be long-ranged, fully reversible, and isomer selective, discriminating between cis and trans diastereomers, enabling maximum control.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schendel
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Bogdana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Borca
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pentegov
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Michnowicz
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kraft
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Hagen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Klauk
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany.|SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews , St. Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wahl
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schlickum
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany.|Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kern
keywords: Molecular switches; STM; nonlocal reactions; organic−metal interface; surface state