title: Out-of-Plane Alignment of Er(trensal) Easy Magnetization Axes Using Graphene.
abstract: We have studied Er(trensal) single-ion magnets adsorbed on graphene/Ru(0001), on graphene/Ir(111), and on bare Ru(0001) by scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. On graphene, the molecules self-assemble into dense and well-ordered islands with their magnetic easy axes perpendicular to the surface. In contrast, on bare Ru(0001), the molecules are disordered, exhibiting only weak directional preference of the easy magnetization axis. The perfect out-of-plane alignment of the easy axes on graphene results from the molecule-molecule interaction, which dominates over the weak adsorption on the graphene surface. Our results demonstrate that the net magnetic properties of a molecular submonolayer can be tuned using a graphene spacer layer, which is attractive for hybrid molecule-inorganic spintronic devices.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dreiser
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Giulia E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Pacchioni
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Donati
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gragnaniello
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cavallin
authors.affiliation: CNRS, CRPP, UPR 8641 and CNRS, ICMCB, UPR 9014, 33600 Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Kasper S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen , 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jesper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bendix
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Delley
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pivetta
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rusponi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brune
keywords: graphene; magnetic anisotropy; self-assembly; single-ion magnets; single-molecule magnets; surfaces