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Updated: May 20, 2026

Combining Solid-state and Solution-based Techniques: Synthesis and Reactivity of Chalcogenidoplumbates(II or IV)
Published on: December 29, 2016
Reversible chiral switching of bis(phthalocyaninato) terbium(III) on a metal surface
Ying-Shuang Fu1, Jörg Schwöbel, Saw-Wai Hla
1Institute of Applied Physics, Hamburg University, 20355 Hamburg, Germany. yfu@physnet.uni-hamburg.de
Abstract:
We demonstrate a reversible chiral switching of bis(phthalocyaninato) terbium(III) molecules on an Ir(111) surface by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. With an azimuthal rotation of its upper phthalocyanine ligand, the molecule can be switched between a chiral and an achiral configuration actuated by respective inelastic electron tunneling and local current heating. Moreover, the molecular chiral configuration can be interchanged between left and right handedness during the switching manipulations, thereby opening up potential nanotechnological applications.
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