Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2504.03945

Single-Molecule Vibrational Characterization of Binding Geometry Effects on Isocyanide-Metal Interactions

Liya Bi·Zhe Wang·Krista Balto·Andrea R. Tao·Tod A. Pascal·Yanning Zhang·Joshua S. Figueroa·Shaowei Li
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Isocyanide-metal binding is governed by sigma-donation and pi-back-bonding, which affects the energy of the isocyanide stretching mode-a characteristic probe for ligand-metal interactions. While extensive correlations exist between structure and spectroscopy in molecular isocyanide-metal systems, isocyanide interactions with metallic crystalline surfaces, where ligands often bind in various geometries, remain poorly understood. Conventional vibrational spectroscopies, such as infrared and Raman, lack the molecular-scale resolution needed to distinguish these inhomogeneous configurations. In contrast, inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM-IETS) enables direct visualization of ligand adsorption geometries and their vibrational signatures. Using STM-IETS, here we investigate a matal-adsorbed m-terphenyl isocyanie ligand and find that adsorption geometry on Cu(100) induces a significant shift in isocyanide stretching frequency, even greater than replacing Cu(100) with Ag(111). Density functional theory confirms this shift arises from atomic-scale variations in isocyanide-metal binding. This study elucidates how atomic-scale binding influences the vibrational signatures of isocyanide ligands-an often-overlooked factor in understanding isocyanide-metal interactions.

Explore related subjects

cond-mat.mes-hall

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Liya Bi, Zhe Wang, Krista Balto, Andrea R. Tao, Tod A. Pascal, Yanning Zhang, Joshua S. Figueroa, Shaowei Li. 2025-04-04. Single-Molecule Vibrational Characterization of Binding Geometry Effects on Isocyanide-Metal Interactions. https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.03945

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Substrate-driven topological engineering in plasmonic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chains

We demonstrate the possibility of engineering the topological band structure of a plasmonic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) chain through the interaction with its electromagnetic environment. We find that the long-range interaction of the in-plane modes of the SSH chain with the surface plasmon polaritons of a planar substrate introduces a band hybridization connected to a change of the Zak phase. On the other hand, the short-range interaction with the substrate introduces a band touching, again with a change in the Zak phase. Surprisingly, this second mechanism enables the emergence of topologically protected edge modes for parameters which correspond to the topologically trivial phase for an isolated plasmonic SSH chain. We study these mechanisms by changing the chain-substrate distance and the dimerization parameter. Finally, we discuss the robustness against disorder and, as one example, the impact of the observed effects on the near-field radiative heat transfer and the local density of states along the chain. Our findings pave the way to the engineering of edge modes in plasmonic topological configurations via the coupling to a plasmonic environment.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2026

Hysteresis-Driven Radiative Mpemba Effect in Phase-Change Nanostructures

The Mpemba effect states that initially hotter systems cool faster than colder ones. While known in convective, conductive, and quantum systems, its radiative analogue is unexplored. Here, this anomaly is realized via phase-change hysteresis of a VO$_2$ nanoparticle near a SiC substrate. After analytically deriving an onset condition, the phase space is mapped. Crucially, latent heat acts as a thermal buffer enabling both ordinary and inverse effects. Near-field coupling governs the relaxation time and enables a passive effect where memory is stored externally via substrate reflection.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2026

Fast universal parametric spin control in an acoustically modulated quantum dot

Quantum communication, distributed computing, and hybrid architectures rely on nodes enabling coherent control of qubits and coupling to propagating quantum modes. While semiconductor quantum-dot (QD) spins couple to microwave and optical photons, weak interaction with mechanical waves has limited the integration of single-QD spin qubits into on-chip, acoustically coupled hybrid systems. The existing theory of acoustic QD spin control suffers from a limited range of rotation-axis angles, enforcing complex realizations of gate primitives and long gate times, leaving little margin against decoherence from trion decay and quasi-static nuclear-spin noise. We propose parametric control that overcomes these problems. We use far-detuned optical coupling to a trion state to dress and thus mix spin states, combined with acoustic modulation of the optical transition energy. Instead of relying on direct acoustic resonance with the spin splitting that leads to significant bottlenecks, we induce spin rotations parametrically via resonance with the dressed-spin splitting. We thus develop a spin analog of the ``swing-up'' charge-state excitation. Our scheme provides fast universal qubit control with nearly arbitrary rotation axes. Our ${\sim}$155 ps Pauli-$X$ gate duration is ${\sim}290\times$ faster than in the previous acousto-optical formulation and ${\sim}14\times$ faster than optical Faraday-geometry spin rotation. The parametric scheme naturally enables higher-harmonic processes. Numerical simulations for ${\sim}44$ GHz acoustic driving show average gate fidelity $\ge99.9\%$ even for uncooled nuclear-spin environments of GaAs and InAs QDs for trion lifetime $\gtrsim1.25$ ns. These metrics suggest practically usable control and may introduce a spin-phonon interface with high interaction rates, versatility, and multi-phonon processes, essential for future acoustically coupled hybrid architectures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗