Unveiling nickelocene bonding to a noble metal surface

Abstract

The manipulation of a molecular spin state in low-dimensional materials is central to molecular spintronics. The designs of hybrid devices incorporating magnetic metallocenes are very promising in this regard, but are hampered by the lack of data regarding their interaction with a metal. Here, we combine low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory calculations to investigate a magnetic metallocene at the single-molecule level---nickelocene. We demonstrate that the chemical and electronic structures of nickelocene are preserved upon adsorption on a copper surface. Several bonding configurations to the surface are identified, ranging from the isolated molecule to molecular layers governed by van der Waals interactions.