title: Surface-induced symmetry reduction in molecular switching: asymmetric cis-trans switching of CH3S-Au-SCH3on Au(111).
abstract: The cis-trans isomerization of CH3S-Au-SCH3driven by the tip of the scanning tunneling microscope is investigated at 77 K. CH3S-Au-SCH3anchored on the Au(111) surface with the S-Au-S axis parallel to the substrate functions as a molecular switch due to the flipping of the CH3groups. The bonding between CH3S-Au-SCH3and Au(111) leads to asymmetric isomerization where one of the two methyl groups flips much more effectively than the other, despite the symmetry of CH3S-Au-SCH3. Our findings suggest the possibility of constructing similar molecular switches that can be operated at room temperature and a potential route for fine-tuning of molecular switches in future nanoscale electro-mechanical devices.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Information Technology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710119, China.
authors.forename: Jianzhi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Nanoscale Physics Research Laboratory, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. Q.Guo@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.affiliation: Vacuum Interconnected Nanotech Workstation, Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China.
authors.forename: Fangsen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Nanoscale Physics Research Laboratory, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. Q.Guo@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.affiliation: Nanoscale Physics Research Laboratory, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. Q.Guo@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Quanmin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo