Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 14, 2026

Isolating Free Carbenes, their Mixed Dimers and Organic Radicals
Published on: April 19, 2019
Multiconfigurational Ground State of a Diradicaloid Characterized at the Atomic Scale
Elia Turco1, Lara Tejerina2, Gonçalo Catarina1
1nanotech@surfaces Laboratory, Empa─Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
None:
We report the tip-induced generation and scanning probe characterization of a singlet diradicaloid, consisting of two phenalenyl units connected by an sp-hybridized C4 chain on an ultrathin insulating NaCl surface. The bond-order contrast along the C4 chain measured by atomic force microscopy and mapping of charge-state transitions by scanning tunneling microscopy, in conjunction with multiconfigurational calculations, reveal that the molecule exhibits a many-body ground state. Our study experimentally demonstrates the manifestation of strong electronic correlations in the geometric and electronic structures of a single molecule.
More Related Videos
10:34Exploring the Radical Nature of a Carbon Surface by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and a Calibrated Gas Flow
Published on: April 24, 2014
08:22Measurement of Ultrafast Vibrational Coherences in Polyatomic Radical Cations with Strong-Field Adiabatic Ionization
Published on: August 6, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Radicals: Electronic Structure and Geometry
Accordingly, the structure of a trivalent radical lies between the geometries of carbocations and carbanions. An sp2-hybridized carbocation is trigonal planar, while an sp3-hybridized carbanion is trigonal pyramidal. Here, the difference in geometry is...
Radical Reactivity: Overview
Radical Formation: Addition
Similar to charge conservation in chemical reactions, spin conservation is implicit for radical reactions. Accordingly, the product formed must possess an...
π Molecular Orbitals of the Allyl Radical
The allyl systems have identical molecular orbitals but differ in the number of π electrons....
Valence Bond Theory
Radical Reactivity: Steric Effects
Along with electronic...