Issue 17, 2013

Atomic force microscopy and near-field optical imaging of a spin transition

Abstract

We report on atomic force microscopy (AFM) and near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) investigations of single crystals of the spin crossover complex {Fe(pyrazine)[Pt(CN)4]} across the first-order thermal spin transition. We demonstrate for the first time that the change in spin state can be probed with sub-micrometer spatial resolution through various topographic features extracted from AFM data. This original approach based on surface topography analysis should be easy to implement to any phase change material exhibiting sizeable electron–lattice coupling. In addition, AFM images revealed specific topographic features in the crystals, which were correlated with the spatiotemporal evolution of the transition observed by far-field and near-field optical microscopies.

Graphical abstract: Atomic force microscopy and near-field optical imaging of a spin transition

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
12 Jun 2013
Accepted
02 Jul 2013
First published
05 Jul 2013

Nanoscale, 2013,5, 7762-7767

Atomic force microscopy and near-field optical imaging of a spin transition

M. Lopes, C. M. Quintero, E. M. Hernández, V. Velázquez, C. Bartual-Murgui, W. Nicolazzi, L. Salmon, G. Molnár and A. Bousseksou, Nanoscale, 2013, 5, 7762 DOI: 10.1039/C3NR03030J

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