Conformational Changes of Single Molecules Induced by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Manipulation: A Route to Molecular Switching
- 22 January 2001
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 86 (4), 672-675
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.86.672
Abstract
A detailed experimental and theoretical investigation of the processes involved in the manipulation of individual specially designed porphyrin-based molecules by scanning tunneling microscopy at low temperature is presented. On a stepped Cu(211) surface, the interaction between tip and molecule was used to locally modify in a reversible way the internal configuration of a single molecule, thus drastically changing the tunneling current passing through it. Model calculations confirm that this manipulation realizes the principle of a conformational molecular switch.Keywords
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