Search results for "Tunneling"
showing 10 items of 182 documents
Odorant binding changes the electrical properties of olfactory receptors at the nanoscale
2021
Olfactory receptors (ORs) comprise the largest multigene family in the vertebrates. They belong to the class A (rhodopsin-like) family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are the most abundant membrane proteins, having widespread, significant roles in signal transduction in cells, and therefore, they are a major pharmacological target. Moreover, ORs displayed high selectivity and sensitivity towards odorant detection, a characteristic that raised the interest for developing biohybrid sensors based on ORs for the detection of volatile compounds. The transduction of odorant binding into cellular signaling by ORs is not well understood and knowing its mechanism would enable developin…
Large-Cavity Coronoids with Different Inner and Outer Edge Structures
2020
Coronoids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with geometrically defined cavities, are promising model structures of porous graphene. Here, we report the on-surface synthesis of C168 and C140 coronoids, referred to as [6]- and [5]coronoid, respectively, using 5,9-dibromo-14-phenylbenzo[m]tetraphene as the precursor. These coronoids entail large cavities (>1 nm) with inner zigzag edges, distinct from their outer armchair edges. While [6]coronoid is planar, [5]coronoid is not. Low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and noncontact atomic force microscopy unveil structural and electronic properties in accordance with those obtained from density functional theory calculation…
Heteroeptiaxial growth of alloy monolayers on W(110)
2005
Abstract We studied the initial growth of Co 1 - x Fe x films on W(1 1 0) using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM and STS), in combination with low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). For Co-rich alloys the deposition at room temperature followed by high-temperature annealing is not equivalent to the deposition at high substrate temperatures, in contrast to the case of Fe-rich alloys. While room temperature deposition results in a structure consisting of small islands even after annealing, deposition at high substrate temperatures leads to large coalesced areas. Sequential deposition of pure Co and pure Fe results in phase separated areas of Co- and Fe-rich areas. Only, in…
Orbiting Orbitals: Visualization of Vi-Bronic Motion at a Conical Intersection
2013
The Jahn-Teller (JT) active unpaired electron of single metalloporphyrin radical anions is imaged through scanning tunneling microscopy. It is demonstrated that the electron is delocalized over the porphyrin macrocycle and its topographic image is determined by vibronic motion: the orbital of the electron adiabatically follows the zero-point pseudorotation of skeletal deformations. Transformation of the polar graphs of the observed images allows visualization of the adiabatic vibrational density to which the electron is coupled. The vibronic potential at the conical intersection is visualized and the half-integer angular momentum characteristic of the Berry phase is revealed in the radial f…
Voltammetry of microparticles, scanning electrochemical microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy applied to the study of dsDNA binding and damage…
2014
Abstract Microparticulate deposits of scorpiand-like azamacrocyclic receptors (L1–L4) attached to graphite electrodes provide distinctive voltammetric features in contact with aqueous DNA solutions at biological pH, denoting the formation of DNA surface complexes. This voltammetry allows for screening dsDNA, ssDNA and G-Quadruplex DNA using L4-modified electrodes. Scanning electrochemical microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy examination of dsDNA fibers attached to the substrate electrode in contact with DMSO solutions containing ferrocene and receptor indicate that a synergic effect is exerted between electrochemically generated ferrocenium ion and the receptors so that they increas…
Probing DNA conductivity with photoinduced electron transfer and scanning tunneling microscopy.
2012
Abstract The possibility that the stacked DNA bases can mediate vectorial electron transfer has been examined using two different approaches. Experiments on photoinduced electron transfer with intercalated donors and acceptors (either randomly bound or linked dyads of ruthenium complex and viologen) indicate that while DNA may be a better medium than acetonitrile for electron transfer over short distances (2-3-base pair, equivalent to 10-14Å centre-to-centre separation), it is a poor medium for transport over larger separations. Attempts to measure conductivity of individual DNA molecules using scanning tunneling microscopy to image mixed monolayers of mercaptohexanol (MCH) and 30-mer or 10…
Quantum Well States in Two-Dimensional Gold Clusters on MgO Thin Films
2008
The electronic structure of ultra-small Au clusters on thin MgO/Ag(001) films has been analyzed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy and density functional theory. The clusters exhibit two-dimensional (2D) quantum well states, whose shapes resemble the eigen-states of a 2D electron gas confined in a parabolic potential. From the symmetries of the HOMO and LUMO of a particular cluster, its electron filling and charge state is determined. In accordance to a DFT Bader-charge analysis, aggregates containing up to twenty atoms accumulate one to four extra electrons due to a charge transfer from the MgO/Ag interface. The HOMO - LUMO gap is found to close for clusters containing between 70 and 100 a…
Structural and Magnetic Properties of Co-Fe Binary Alloy Monolayers on W(110)
2003
We present an experimental investigation of ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{o}}_{x}{\mathrm{F}\mathrm{e}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}$ monolayers grown on flat and stepped W(110) surfaces. Atomically resolved scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction reveal continuous miscibility and pseudomorphic growth of Co and Fe for $0\ensuremath{\le}xl0.6$. We observe short range ordered ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{F}\mathrm{e}}_{3}$-$p(2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2)$ and CoFe-$c(2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2)$ structures in the pseudomorphic monolayer. High Co concentrations lead to a phase separation. The Curie temperature and the ferromagnetic Kerr signal at low temperatures decr…
Competition of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and Higher-Order Exchange Interactions in Rh/Fe Atomic Bilayers on Ir(111)
2018
Using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory we demonstrate the occurrence of a novel type of noncollinear spin structure in $\mathrm{Rh}/\mathrm{Fe}$ atomic bilayers on Ir(111). We find that higher-order exchange interactions depend sensitively on the stacking sequence. For fcc-$\mathrm{Rh}/\mathrm{Fe}/\mathrm{Ir}(111)$, frustrated exchange interactions are dominant and lead to the formation of a spin spiral ground state with a period of about 1.5 nm. For hcp-$\mathrm{Rh}/\mathrm{Fe}/\mathrm{Ir}(111)$, higher-order exchange interactions favor an up-up-down-down ($\ensuremath{\uparrow}\ensuremath{\uparrow}\ensuremath{\downarrow}\ensuremath{\downarrow}$) s…
Optical properties of biocompatible polyaniline nano-composites
2006
Abstract Polyaniline (PANI) is an electro-active polymer of great interest thanks to its outstanding physical and chemical properties which make it suitable for various applications in optics, bioelectronics, biosensors, diagnostics and therapeutic devices. Unfortunately, PANI is infusible and insoluble in most common solvents and, thus, very difficult to process. In the attempt of improving processability, yet preserving its interesting properties, PANI has been synthesized in the form of particles and dispersed into a hydrogel matrix. The synthesis of PANI–hydrogel composites proceeds via γ-irradiation of PANI dispersions as obtained by ‘in situ’ polymerization of aniline in the presence …