Vibrational excitations in magnetic triangular nanographenes

TL;DR

This paper uses inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy to identify vibrational excitations in a magnetic nanographene, distinguishing them from magnetic excitations through experimental and theoretical analysis.

Contribution

It demonstrates a method to differentiate vibrational from magnetic excitations in nanostructures using combined IETS measurements and theoretical simulations.

Findings

Vibrational origin of observed excitations confirmed

Spatial distribution excludes magnetic excitations

Distinct vibrational modes assigned to features

Abstract

Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) is a powerful measurement technique often used in scanning tunneling spectroscopy to probe excited states of various nanostructures, e.g., the magnetic properties of complex spin systems. The observed excited states can be of magnetic and vibrational origin and it is therefore necessary to differentiate between these two excitation mechanisms. Here, we investigate the spin S = 1/2 phenalenyl radical on Au(111). IETS measurements feature inelastic excitations, whereas the spatial distribution of their intensity excludes any spin excitations. Comparison to theoretical simulations proves the vibrational origin of those excitations and allows us to assign the observed features to distinct vibrational modes.