Reversible Control of Spintronic Properties of Ferromagnetic Metal/Organic Interfaces through Selective Molecular Switching

Controlling spintronic properties of ferromagnetic metal/organic interfaces in a reversible manner provides novel avenues in spin memory and logic operations. Until now, most previous work has been performed by adsorbing magnetic organometallic complexes with bistable magnetic states on metal surfaces. However, the strong coupling between the molecule and metal surface usually destroys the switching ability or even leads to dissociation of the adsorbates, obstructing efficient control of spintronic properties at the interface. Here, we propose a new design to realize the switchable magnetic properties based on bistable chemisorbed and physisorbed states of nonmagnetic molecules on ferromagnetic metal surfaces. The switching between the two states leads to distinct local magnetic moments and yields actively controlled spin polarization of the tunneling current. Based on this strategy, we have predicted a series of switchable spinterfaces from halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons on ferromagnetic metal surfaces, allowing highly tunable interfacial spintronic properties.