Room temperature conductance switching in a molecular iron(<scp>iii</scp>) spin crossover junction
Senthil Kumar Karuppannan, Alejandro Martín‐Rodríguez, Eliseo Ruíz, Phimphaka Harding, David J. Harding, Xiaojiang Yu, Anton Tadich, Bruce C. C. Cowie, Dongchen Qi, Christian A. Nijhuis
Abstract
(qsal-I = 4-iodo-2-[(8-quinolylimino)methyl]phenolate) molecules self-assembled on graphene surfaces with conductance switching of one order of magnitude associated with the high and low spin states of the SCO complex. Normalized conductance analysis of the current-voltage characteristics as a function of temperature reveals that charge transport across the SCO molecule is dominated by coherent tunnelling. Temperature-dependent X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory confirm the SCO complex retains its SCO functionality on the surface implying that van der Waals molecule-electrode interfaces provide a good trade-off between junction stability while retaining SCO switching capability. These results provide new insights and may aid in the design of other types of molecular devices based on SCO compounds.