Emergence of π-Magnetism in Fused Aza-Triangulenes: Symmetry and Charge Transfer Effects

Abstract

On-surface synthesis has paved the way towards the fabrication and characterization of conjugated carbon-based molecular materials that exhibit π-magnetism such as triangulenes. Aza-triangulene, a nitrogen-substituted derivative, was recently shown to display rich on-surface chemistry, offering an ideal platform to investigate structure-property relations regarding spin-selective charge transfer and magnetic fingerprints. Herein, we study electronic changes upon fusing single molecules into larger dimeric derivatives. We show that the closed-shell structure of aza-triangulene on Ag(111) leads to closed-shell dimers covalently coupled through sterically accessible carbon atoms. Meanwhile, its open-shell structure on Au(111) leads to coupling via atoms displaying high spin density, resulting in symmetric or asymmetric dimer products. Interestingly, whereas all fused products on Au(111) exhibit similar charge transfer properties, only asymmetric dimers show magnetic fingerprints. We rationalize this in terms of molecular bonding structure and π-conjugation: in contrast to the symmetric and highly conjugated dimer, asymmetric dimers display more localized orbitals, which result in a larger Coulomb repulsion and thus promote single electron occupancies with associated spin density and π-magnetism. These results expose a clear relationship between molecular symmetry, charge transfer, and spin states in π-conjugated carbon-based nanostructures.