Observation of Biradical Spin Coupling through Hydrogen Bonds.

Abstract

Investigation of intermolecular electron spin interaction is of fundamental importance in both science and technology. Here, radical pairs of all-trans retinoic acid molecules on Au(111) are created using an ultralow temperature scanning tunneling microscope. Antiferromagnetic coupling between two radicals is identified by magnetic-field-dependent spectroscopy. The measured exchange energies are from 0.1 to 1.0meV. The biradical spin coupling is mediated through O─H⋯O hydrogen bonds, as elucidated from analysis combining density functional theory calculation and a modern version of valence bond theory.