Mixed-Sandwich Titanium(III) Qubits on Au(111): Electron Delocalization Ruled by Molecular Packing
Matteo Briganti, Giulia Serrano, Lorenzo Poggini, Andrea Luigi Sorrentino, Brunetto Cortigiani, Luana C. de Camargo, Jaı́sa F. Soares, Alessandro Motta, Andréa Caneschi, Matteo Mannini, Federico Totti, Roberta Sessoli
Abstract
-cyclopentadienyl)titanium, here [CpTi(cot)], has attracted interest as a spin qubit because of the long coherence time. Here the structural and chemical properties of [CpTi(cot)] on Au(111) are investigated at the monolayer level by experimental and computational methods. Scanning tunneling microscopy suggests that adsorption occurs in two molecular orientations, lying and standing, with a 3:1 ratio. XPS data evidence that a fraction of the molecules undergo partial electron transfer to gold, while our computational analysis suggests that only the standing molecules experience charge delocalization toward the surface. Such a phenomenon depends on intermolecular interactions that stabilize the molecular packing in the monolayer. This orientation-dependent molecule-surface hybridization opens exciting perspectives for selective control of the molecule-substrate spin delocalization in hybrid interfaces.