AVS 56th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Surface Science Wednesday Sessions
       Session SS2-WeA

Paper SS2-WeA9
Stepwise Control and Spectroscopic Manifestation of the Target-Selective Single Bond Dissociation and Formation

Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 4:40 pm, Room N

Session: Surface Physics, Single Particle Imaging
Presenter: Y.J. Jiang, University of California, Irvine
Authors: Y.J. Jiang, University of California, Irvine
W. Ho, University of California, Irvine
Correspondent: Click to Email
We demonstrated here, adopting a thiol-based π-conjugated molecule (1,4-bis[4’-(acetylthio)styryl]benzene), the evolution of the molecular electronic structure with the stepwise abstraction of different functional groups and the attachment of single gold atoms to sulfur anchoring atoms by scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The electronic resonances of the resultants were measured by spatially resolved electronic spectroscopy at each reaction step. It was revealed that the target-selective bond dissociations were initiated by electron populations of the spatially localized and energetically separated electronic resonances. Combining the well-controlled single bond scission with the lateral manipulation by STM tip, the details of Au-S bond formation and the influence of Au-S interaction on the electronic structure of the molecular junction were investigated in the well-defined contact geometry.