Invited Speaker MOLECULAR DEVICES FOR SINGLE MOLECULE STM EXPERIMENTS

Scanning probe microscopy in ultra-high vacuum nowadays allows very precise experiments at the single molecule level [1]. We have designed and synthesized series of molecules finely tuned for studying molecule-substrate interactions, molecular mechanics, contact conductance or molecular switching. In this talk, I will introduce molecular moulds able to perform and stabilize nanoelectrodes, molecular devices designed to trap and move metallic atoms [2], to perform switching and conformational changes [3] or to demonstrate a rack-and-pinion mechanism (Figure below) [4]. Current work on molecular orbital imaging will also be presented [5]. Figure: A fully controlled rotation of a single molecule in a rack-and-pinion system. The arrow shows the orientation of a quasi six-fold symmetry molecule with respect to the 2D crystal step-edge. References