Abstract
The ability to control the spin-transport properties of a molecule bridging conducting electrodes is of paramount importance to molecular spintronics. Quantum interference can play an important role in allowing or forbidding electrons from passing through a system. In this work, the spin-transport properties of a polyacetylene chain bridging zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) are studied with nonequilibrium Greens function calculations performed within the density functional theory framework (NEGF-DFT). ZGNR electrodes have inherent spin polarization along their edges, which causes a splitting between the properties of spin-up and spin-down electrons in these systems. Upon adding an imidazole donor group and a pyridine acceptor group to the polyacetylene chain, this causes destructive interference features in the electron transmission spectrum. Particularly, the donor group causes a large antiresonance dip in transmission at the Fermi energy EF of the electrodes. The application of a gate is investigated and found to provide control over the energy position of this feature making it possible to turn this phenomenon on and off. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of this system are also calculated, showing near ohmic scaling for spin-up but negative differential resistance (NDR) for spin-down.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 15065-15071 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of the American Chemical Society |
| Volume | 136 |
| Issue number | 42 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 22 2014 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Chemistry(all)
- Catalysis
- Biochemistry
- Colloid and Surface Chemistry
Cite this
Molecular spintronics : Destructive quantum interference controlled by a gate. / Saraiva-Souza, Aldilene; Smeu, Manuel; Zhang, Lei; Souza Filho, Antonio Gomes; Guo, Hong; Ratner, Mark A.
In: Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 136, No. 42, 22.10.2014, p. 15065-15071.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular spintronics
T2 - Destructive quantum interference controlled by a gate
AU - Saraiva-Souza, Aldilene
AU - Smeu, Manuel
AU - Zhang, Lei
AU - Souza Filho, Antonio Gomes
AU - Guo, Hong
AU - Ratner, Mark A
PY - 2014/10/22
Y1 - 2014/10/22
N2 - The ability to control the spin-transport properties of a molecule bridging conducting electrodes is of paramount importance to molecular spintronics. Quantum interference can play an important role in allowing or forbidding electrons from passing through a system. In this work, the spin-transport properties of a polyacetylene chain bridging zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) are studied with nonequilibrium Greens function calculations performed within the density functional theory framework (NEGF-DFT). ZGNR electrodes have inherent spin polarization along their edges, which causes a splitting between the properties of spin-up and spin-down electrons in these systems. Upon adding an imidazole donor group and a pyridine acceptor group to the polyacetylene chain, this causes destructive interference features in the electron transmission spectrum. Particularly, the donor group causes a large antiresonance dip in transmission at the Fermi energy EF of the electrodes. The application of a gate is investigated and found to provide control over the energy position of this feature making it possible to turn this phenomenon on and off. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of this system are also calculated, showing near ohmic scaling for spin-up but negative differential resistance (NDR) for spin-down.
AB - The ability to control the spin-transport properties of a molecule bridging conducting electrodes is of paramount importance to molecular spintronics. Quantum interference can play an important role in allowing or forbidding electrons from passing through a system. In this work, the spin-transport properties of a polyacetylene chain bridging zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) are studied with nonequilibrium Greens function calculations performed within the density functional theory framework (NEGF-DFT). ZGNR electrodes have inherent spin polarization along their edges, which causes a splitting between the properties of spin-up and spin-down electrons in these systems. Upon adding an imidazole donor group and a pyridine acceptor group to the polyacetylene chain, this causes destructive interference features in the electron transmission spectrum. Particularly, the donor group causes a large antiresonance dip in transmission at the Fermi energy EF of the electrodes. The application of a gate is investigated and found to provide control over the energy position of this feature making it possible to turn this phenomenon on and off. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of this system are also calculated, showing near ohmic scaling for spin-up but negative differential resistance (NDR) for spin-down.
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U2 - 10.1021/ja508537n
DO - 10.1021/ja508537n
M3 - Article
VL - 136
SP - 15065
EP - 15071
JO - Journal of the American Chemical Society
JF - Journal of the American Chemical Society
SN - 0002-7863
IS - 42
ER -