Stable $\pi$-radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) adsorbed at the elbows of $22\times\sqrt{3}$ reconstructed Au(111)

Abstract

Stable organic radicals serve as model systems for investigating metal-free magnetic phenomena at (sub)nanometer length scales. We have investigated at the single-molecule level the stable $\pi$-radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) adsorbed at the elbow sites of the $22\times\sqrt{3}$ reconstructed Au(111) surface. Low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and -spectroscopy under ultrahigh vacuum conditions at 8~K reveal structural as well as frontier-orbital related electronic details of DPPH/Au(111). A Kondo-like spectroscopic signature indicates preservation of the unpaired electron spin state.