Evidence of trion-libron coupling in chirally adsorbed single molecules

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the coupling between librational modes and trions in chirally adsorbed single molecules, revealing detailed vibrational spectra and control mechanisms using high-resolution spectroscopy.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed experimental and theoretical analysis of libron-trion coupling in single molecules adsorbed on surfaces, highlighting chirality effects.

Findings

Identification of libronic progressions in spectra of chirally adsorbed molecules

Excellent match between experimental spectra and theoretical calculations

Control of zero libron depopulation via nanocavity tuning

Abstract

Interplay between motion of nuclei and excited electrons in molecules plays a key role both in biological and artificial nanomachines. Here we provide a detailed analysis of coupling between quantized librational modes (librons) and charged excited states (trions) on single phthalocyanine dyes adsorbed on a surface. By means of tunnelling electron-induced electroluminescence, we identify libronic progressions on a {\mu}eV energy range in spectra of chirally adsorbed phthalocyanines, which are otherwise absent from spectra of symmetrically adsorbed species. Experimentally measured libronic spectra match very well the theoretically calculated libron eigenenergies and peak intensities (Franck-Condon factors) and reveal an unexpected depopulation channel for the zero libron of the excited state that can be effectively controlled by tuning the size of the nanocavity. Our results showcase the possibility of characterizing the dynamics of molecules by their low-energy molecular modes using {\mu}eV-resolved tip-enhanced spectroscopy.