Conductance of Pd-H nanojunctions

TL;DR

This paper reports experimental findings on palladium nanojunctions in hydrogen, discovering new atomic configurations with specific conductance values and analyzing their phonon spectra to understand their microscopic structure.

Contribution

It introduces two novel hydrogen-related atomic configurations in palladium nanojunctions with conductances of ~0.5 and ~1 quantum unit, expanding understanding of metal-hydrogen atomic contacts.

Findings

Discovery of two new hydrogen-related atomic configurations in Pd nanojunctions.

Measurement of conductance values around 0.5 and 1 quantum unit.

Phonon spectra indicate configurations are between electrodes with dissolved hydrogen.

Abstract

Results of an experimental study of palladium nanojunctions in hydrogen environment are presented. Two new hydrogen-related atomic configurations are found, which have a conductances of ~0.5 and ~1 quantum unit (2e^2/h). Phonon spectrum measurements demonstrate that these configurations are situated between electrodes containing dissolved hydrogen. The crucial differences compared to the previously studied Pt-H_2 junctions, and the possible microscopic realizations of the new configurations in palladium-hydrogen atomic-sized contacts are discussed.