Multistate switching of scanning tunnelling microscopy machined polyoxovanadate-dysprosium-phthalocyanine nanopatterns on graphite

Nanoscale Horiz. 2024 Jan 29;9(2):233-237. doi: 10.1039/d3nh00345k.

Abstract

We demonstrate the first formation of stable, multistate switchable monolayers of polyoxometalates (POMs), which can be electronically triggered to higher charged states with increased conductance in the current-voltage profile at room temperature. These responsive two-dimensional monolayers are based on a fully oxidised dodecavanadate cage (POV12) equipped with Dy(III)-doped phthalocyanine (Pc) macrocycles adopting the face-on orientation on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). The layers can be lithographically processed by the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) to machine patterns with diameters ranging from 30 to 150 nm2.