From Materials Today
Materials in Focus
A single molecule constitutes the ultimate nanometer-scale object through which electronic transport can take place. A research team has now showed how magnetism and quantum many-body phenomena can be tuned by precise mechanical manipulation of single molecules. They investigated the magnetic states of individual spin = 1 molecules placed between two electrodes in a metal break junction. By stretching the electrodes, they explored the resulting symmetry-breaking effects of this mechanical action on the conduction properties through the molecule, focusing on magnetic anisotropy. [Science]