Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Mn12 Molecular Magnets on Sulfonate and Carboxylic Acid Prefunctionalized Gold Surfaces

Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of [Mn12O12(bet)16(EtOH)4](PF6)14·4CH3CN·H2O (in short Mn12bet, bet = betaine = +N(CH3)3-CH2−COO−) singlemolecule magnets (SMMs) deposited on previously functionalized gold surfaces have been investigated. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) either of sodium mercaptoethanesulfonate (MES) or mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) are used as functionalization to avoid the direct interaction between the Mn12bet molecules and the Au surface with the aim of preserving the main functional properties of the molecules. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) analysis show deposited Mn12bet SMMs well-isolated from each other and uniformly distributed on both MES and MPA SAMs. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) studies show that the oxidation state of the mixed-valence Mn12bet core is largely reduced to Mn2+ when molecules are deposited on MES-SAM, whereas in the case of MPA-SAM the relative weights of Mn2+, Mn3+, and Mn4+ in the Mn12bet core are preserved. Despite the substantial retaining of their electronic properties, the magnetization of Mn12bet molecules deposited on MPA-SAM measured by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) is perturbed with respect to the pristine molecules.