Sensing a magnetic rare-earth surface alloy by proximity effect with an open-shell nanographene
The study investigated how depositing TbAu2, a rare-earth surface alloy with a strong out-of-plane magnetic field, affects phenalenyl (2T) nanographenes. STS showed that this interaction splits the molecule's zero-bias Kondo resonance by about 20 mV due to proximity effects. This splitting is caused by the substrate's magnetism, proving that the ferromagnetic surface can lift spin degeneracy and orient the molecule's spin.