Spin splitting of dopant edge state in magnetic zigzag graphene nanoribbons.

Spin-ordered electronic states in hydrogen-terminated zigzag nanographene give rise to magnetic quantum phenomena1,2 that have sparked renewed interest in carbon-based spintronics3,4. Zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs)-quasi one-dimensional semiconducting strips of graphene bounded by parallel zigzag edges-host intrinsic electronic edge states that are ferromagnetically ordered along the edges of the ribbon and antiferromagnetically coupled across its width1,2,5. Despite recent advances in the bottom-up synthesis of GNRs featuring symmetry protected topological phases6-8 and even metallic zero mode bands9, the unique magnetic edge structure of ZGNRs has long been obscured from direct observation by a strong hybridization of the zigzag edge states with the surface states of the underlying support10-15. Here, we present a general technique to thermodynamically stabilize and electronically decouple the highly reactive spin-polarized edge states by introducing a superlattice of substitutional N-atom dopants along the edges of a ZGNR. First-principles GW calculations and scanning tunnelling spectroscopy reveal a giant spin splitting of low-lying nitrogen lone-pair flat bands by an exchange field (~850 tesla) induced by the ferromagnetically ordered edge states of ZGNRs. Our findings directly corroborate the nature of the predicted emergent magnetic order in ZGNRs and provide a robust platform for their exploration and functional integration into nanoscale sensing and logic devices15-21.

Engineering Robust Metallic Zero-Mode States in Olympicene Graphene Nanoribbons.

Metallic graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) represent a critical component in the toolbox of low-dimensional functional materials technology serving as 1D interconnects capable of both electronic and quantum information transport. The structural constraints imposed by on-surface bottom-up GNR synthesis protocols along with the limited control over orientation and sequence of asymmetric monomer building blocks during the radical step-growth polymerization have plagued the design and assembly of metallic GNRs. Here, we report the regioregular synthesis of GNRs hosting robust metallic states by embedding a symmetric zero-mode (ZM) superlattice along the backbone of a GNR. Tight-binding electronic structure models predict a strong nearest-neighbor electron hopping interaction between adjacent ZM states, resulting in a dispersive metallic band. First-principles density functional theory-local density approximation calculations confirm this prediction, and the robust, metallic ZM band of olympicene GNRs is experimentally corroborated by scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

Automated Tip Conditioning for Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy.

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), a technique that records the change in the tunneling current as a function of the bias (dI/dV) across the gap between a tip and the sample, is a powerful tool to characterize the electronic structure of single molecules and nanomaterials. While performing STS, the structure and condition of the scanning probe microscopy (SPM) tips are critical for reliably obtaining high quality point spectra. Here, we present an automated program based on machine learning models that can identify the Au(111) Shockley surface state in dI/dV point spectra and perform tip conditioning on clean or sparsely covered gold surfaces with minimal user intervention. We employed a straightforward height-based segmentation algorithm to analyze STM topographic images to identify tip conditioning positions and used 1789 archived dI/dV spectra to train machine learning models that can ascertain the condition of the tip by evaluating the quality of the spectroscopic data. Decision tree based ensemble and boosting models and deep neural networks (DNNs) have been shown to reliably identify tips in suitable conditions for STS. We expect the automated program to reduce operational costs and time, increase reproducibility in surface science studies, and accelerate the discovery and characterization of novel nanomaterials by STM. The strategies presented in this paper can readily be adapted to STM tip conditioning on a wide variety of other common substrates.

Photoinduced Charge Transfer in Single-Molecule p-n Junctions.

We measured photoinduced charge separation in isolated individual C60-tethered 2,5-dithienylpyrrole triad (C60 triad) molecules with submolecular resolution using a custom-built laser-assisted scanning tunneling microscope. Laser illumination was introduced evanescently into the tunneling junction through total internal reflection, and the changes in tunneling current and electronic spectra caused by photoexcitation were measured and spatially resolved. Photoinduced charge separation was not detected for all C60 triad molecules, indicating that the conformations of the molecules may affect the excitation probability, lifetime, and/or charge distribution. A photoinduced signal was not observed for dodecanethiol molecules in the surrounding matrix or for control molecules without C60 moieties, as neither absorbs incident photons at this energy. This spectroscopic imaging technique has the potential to elucidate detailed photoinduced carrier dynamics, which are inaccessible via ensemble-scale (i.e., averaging) measurements, which can be used to direct the rational design and optimization of molecular p-n junctions and assemblies for energy harvesting.